The government must act on the recommendations of a new report which found that using more standardised housing designs and modern methods of construction could slash homebuilding costs by up to an eighth, according to Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne.
Deputy Hearne, who is the party’s housing spokesperson, said:
“The conclusions of this study, commissioned by the Department of Housing, are highly significant. It found that the use of off-site construction and prefabricated design technologies could generate considerable savings across all stages of residential delivery.
“This model of construction is widely used abroad to develop housing at scale and is the type of innovative thinking needed to turbocharge delivery of affordable homes in Ireland.
“The report comes in the same week that the Social Democrats published proposals in our alternative budget for a €120 million modular homes factory. Producing up to 2,000 homes every year, this would be the first of many such factories rolled out across the country.
“We would also set aside an initial €20 million to start up a State-owned construction company.
“Such initiatives would be funded by phasing out subsidies for private developers and investor fund landlords.
“We have also proposed a Homes for Ireland Savings Account (HISA) to leverage some of the €160 billion sitting in Irish deposit accounts, earning no interest, for investment in public housing.
“The government has signalled more tax breaks for developers in Budget 2026 – but this will simply repeat mistakes of the past. It is clear that only a radical shift to a State-led approach is going to solve our housing crisis, which has turned into a social catastrophe.”