Housing delivery in Ireland can now be most accurately tracked through the Government’s  ‘Housing for All’ Statistics Dashboard at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/d337b-housing-for-all-statistics-dashboard/#statistics-dashboard.

The most recently published statistics confirm that – on a rolling 12 months to 2022 Q3 – new dwellings completions totalled 27,773, which was a 32.7 percent year on year increase; the number of planning permissions granted also increased to 40,030, up 2.4 percent year on year. Significantly, commencement notices are down by 11.9 percent to 26,898. 

According to infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, there is a significant risk that the Irish Government’s ‘Housing for All’ target of 29,000 residential unit completions this year may not be met due to continued inflation in the construction sector. The report notes that while tender price inflation is expected to be around 5% this year, it is significantly lower than the record 12% inflation recorded in 2022. The report forecasts that the value of construction output this year will be around €34 billion, a €2 billion increase from 2022. However, when inflation is taken into account, the industry is not likely to experience any growth, the report concludes. The inflationary environment is also expected to impact housing completions, with interest rate increases and market uncertainty contributing to completion volumes being lower than the government’s target.

Since 2016, offsite and other modern methods of construction that speed up the delivery of quality new homes have been signaled as a key potential solution to the current, chronic housing shortage. To learn more about the ‘Advantages of light gauge steel for building offsite’, click here: https://www.horizonoffsite.ie/advantages-of-light-gauge-steel-for-building-offsite/

12 months ago, the Construction Industry Federation put together a working group to report on the rate of adoption of offsite and other modern methods of construction (MMC) in Ireland. The group aimed to explore how MMC can alleviate Ireland’s housing crisis while addressing climate change. The report highlights the importance of a national infrastructure of testing facilities, an independent technical advisory service, a living laboratory, advanced industry-focused MMC education and training facilities, minimizing waste, establishing an open-source knowledge bank, allowing the customer’s voice to be heard, developing methods and technologies at a certain level of readiness, integrating with existing technology centers, establishing certification and national standards, encouraging insurance and funding, pushing forward with supply chain logistics, developing design and management skills, and having the public sector lead by example. The group also suggests the establishment of an MMC Demonstration Park and Construction Technology Innovation Centre which would physically demonstrate the use and benefits of systems like light-gauge steel framing, timber framing techniques, and precast concrete and highlight cost benefits compared to traditional methods. You can read more about this here: CIF Issues Report on Offsite and Other Modern Methods of Construction in Ireland https://www.horizonoffsite.ie/cif-issues-modern-methods-of-construction/

For 2023, in addition to our pipeline of healthcare and education projects, the Horizon Offsite team are delighted to be working on a large number of residential projects, including social housing in Dublin, Tipperary and Wicklow, and private housing in Dublin, Cork, Meath,  Kildare and across the midlands region. 

About Horizon Offsite

Horizon Offsite Ltd is one of Europe’s leading players in Offsite Construction and Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), providing a fully accredited structural light gauge steel system to the residential, industrial, commercial, healthcare and educational sectors. Contact the Horizon Offsite team at https://www.horizonoffsite.ie