Southern Regional Assembly Report Highlights Housing Delivery Challenges
A new report published by the Southern Regional Assembly, Housing Delivery in the Southern Region: Analysis of Data and Trends from 2024, notes concerning trends relating to housing delivery and identifies key challenges impacting housing supply across the region
While the 8,700 homes completed in the Region in 2024 represented a 12 % increase on the previous year, it was still 43% short of housing targets set out in City and County Development Plans. Encouragingly, 18,900 homes were recorded as commenced, more than double the 2023 figure and significantly above annual housing targets, signalling a positive increase in housing activity. However, 2024 witnessed a reduction in the number of homes granted planning permission, which risks undermining the potential for increased housing delivery in future years.
The report highlights the following key issues relating to housing delivery in the Region:
- Activating Zoned Land: Housing targets from our City and County Development Plans are, in most cases, already ambitious enough, the challenge is in activating existing zoned land to deliver these targets.
- Apartments & Brownfield Land: The under delivery of apartments and development on brownfield land in the Region undermines overall housing supply, as well as objectives for mixed communities and compact growth.
- Regional Imbalance: There is a significant disparity in the rate of housing delivery across the country with disproportionate focus toward the Greater Dublin Area, which weakens the delivery of balanced regional growth objectives.
- Disparity across Cities and Towns: While Cork has seen a significant boost in housing construction, this isn’t being witnessed in Limerick, Waterford and many larger Towns in the Region.
- Rural Shortfalls: There is a significant under delivery of housing across rural towns and villages, with infrastructure deficits, construction costs, development viability and access to financing posing major challenges.
The report calls for targeted measures by government to accelerate housing delivery to address the different obstacles that are faced in different forms of developments and across different areas, particularly the varied nature of development viability.
David Kelly, Director of the Southern Regional Assembly, noted that:
“With housing a national challenge, recently published data on housing delivery for 2024 has been subject to intense scrutiny and discussion. It is important to understand what the most recent data reveals about housing delivery across our Region. The report highlights that, despite some positive trends on commencements, major challenges remain in driving housing delivery up to the levels targeted in the new Programme for Government.”
Cllr. Ken Murnane, Cathaoirleach of the Southern Regional Assembly, states:
“This report clearly highlights the need for focused intervention by Government to overcome barriers and support accelerated housing delivery. Our ambition is that the findings of this report will help to inform future national policy aimed at accelerating housing delivery so that they have the greatest possible effect for all parts of the Southern Region, and Ireland as a whole.”
The full report can be read on https://southernassembly.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Housing-Delivery-in-the-Southern-Region-2024-Analysis_FINAL.pdf
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Notes to Editor
For further information or media enquiries please contact:
David Kelly, Director, Southern Regional Assembly
Email: dkelly@southernassembly.ie
The Southern Regional Assembly has prepared the enclosed report, Housing Delivery in the Southern Region – Analysis of Data and Trends from 2024. This report assesses the key trends from updated data for 2024 for new dwelling completions, housing commencements and planning permissions as published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO). It also assesses the key insights and trends evident from major residential applications which have been granted planning permission through the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) and Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) planning processes.
About the Southern Regional Assembly
The Southern Regional Assembly works to promote sustainable development and regional cooperation across Ireland’s Southern Region, encompassing the Metropolitan Areas of Cork, Limerick-Shannon, and Waterford, alongside numerous towns, villages, and rural communities.
Based in Waterford city, the Southern Regional Assembly is the regional tier of government in Ireland with a remit for the Southern Region. The Southern Region covers the local authorities of Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford, Wexford, Tipperary, Cork City, Cork County, Kerry, Clare and Limerick. The Regional Assembly has 34 Members representing the ten local authorities at regional level, 27 appointed by their local authority and six as Committee of the Regions Members.
The Regional Assembly forges links between EU, national and local levels through regional spatial and economic planning and European Regional Development Funding (ERDF) for the benefit of the Southern Region. It is responsible for strategic regional and economic planning and supporting balanced, sustainable regional development by:
Linking local, regional, national and EU policy goals through regional planning and EU regional development.
Leading the implementation of the Regional Spatial & Economic Strategy (RSES).
Promoting balanced regional development through the management of, support for, and involvement in European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) funded programmes and projects.