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Sunday Property Round-Up 21st December 2025

Weekly Irish property market news and insights – for the industry, by the industry  

Message from Carol Tallon:

2026 must be the year housing policy is allowed to fail – so it can finally change.

  • Rebuilding Ireland, 2016,  6,906 people homeless 
  • Housing for All, 2021, 8,900 people homeless 
  • Delivery Homes, Building Communities, 2024, 16,766 people homeless 

Failing slowly is hurting people, we need the political bravery to fail faster and to fail better. 

Since 2016, Ireland has committed tens of billions to housing; multi-billion euro annual budgets, a record €11.275 billion allocation for 2026, and almost €25 billion under the National Development Plan, including nearly €20 billion for social and affordable homes. Yet homelessness is at a record high and housing delivery is still tens of thousands of homes short each year.

Last week at the EU Housing Summit in Galway (https://caroltallon.com/eu-housing-summit-galway-2025/), there was broad alignment on the scale of the problem. This week, the data caught up. The Central Bank and the ESRI have now confirmed that  Ireland is not on track. Even under best-case projections, we will remain tens of thousands of homes short every year, with no step-change in delivery expected in 2026. Targets continue to be restated as if repetition equals progress. It doesn’t.

This matters because the EU’s Affordable Housing Plan was finally published this week (https://caroltallon.com/what-the-eu-affordable-housing-plan-means-for-irish-delivery/). For Ireland, it means less room to hide behind process and more scrutiny of planning performance, infrastructure alignment and delivery capacity. It also creates a real opportunity. The funded pilots being discussed for Ireland’s EU Presidency from July 2026  include proptech, digital planning, MMC and democratic participation in New European Bauhaus-aligned public consultation, which will be live tests of whether Ireland can modernise how housing is planned, approved and delivered, without eroding trust or democratic consent.

At home, however, the system continues to move in the opposite direction. Apartment guidelines are now heading to the European courts. Tier 1 contractors are openly criticising the planning regime. Housing legislation is being rushed through the Oireachtas with predictable legal and delivery risk. Public procurement still prioritises lowest cost over lowest risk, even for complex, high-impact projects. We mark NAMA’s final surplus transfer while avoiding the harder question of what durable delivery capacity replaced it. This is not a shortage of policy. It is a failure of execution.

There are counter-signals. Capital is cautiously re-engaging. Senior executives are backing their own housing platforms. New models – intergenerational living, senior living, over-the-shop conversions – are emerging not because the system is working, but because it is being worked around. None of this compensates for a structural shortfall. Housing will not be fixed by public, private  or not-for-profit (but problematically profitable) actors each working alone, nor by financial engineering or technological optimism. It requires alignment across planning, infrastructure, procurement and governance, and a willingness to confront uncomfortable trade-offs.

Which brings us to the point both the EU and Ireland are now circling. A decade into this crisis, the choice is narrowing. Either housing is treated as an emergency – with the urgency, coordination and consequences that implies – or government accepts that this is now a permacrisis of our own making. A managed shortage. A policy choice.

As housing policy fixates on cities, rural Ireland – which houses 37% of the population – is being quietly written off. Systematic, policy-driven deprivation has accumulated for decades. Rural proofing commitments are not being honoured by policy-makers.The Planning Statement, first promised in 2005 and now promised in early 2026, will be a test of intent, not process, to redress this generational failure. Anyone serious about rural delivery, please get in touch with me directly.

As always, you can contact me in confidence at carol@caroltallon.com

PROPERTY DISTRICT PRESS OFFICE 

Below are the local and international stories that might be of particular interest:

If you missed last week’s round-up, you can catch up here: https://ipropertyradio.com/sunday-property-round-up/ 
As always, you might let me know if I have missed out on any relevant property news by emailing carol@caroltallon.com 

PLACEMAKING: https://placeengage.com

Open public consultations and community engagement, in association with the Public Consultation Institute of Ireland

  • Beautiful – Sustainable – Together: Aligned with Aarhus Convention transparency and New European Bauhaus principles, PLACEengage empowers communities, planners, and developers across Ireland’s public and private sectors to collaborate more effectively — Learn more at www.PLACEengage.com PLACEengage: Better placemaking, together.

Rural, Coastal & Islands


CONSTRUCTION: https://breakingground.news 

Breaking Ground News: Appointments & #ConstructionCareers

  • BGN Construction Careers, your weekly newsletter from Breaking Ground news, keeps you updated on the latest job opportunities, while showcasing the very best employer brands and projects, across Ireland’s construction industry. Whether you are looking for your next role or planning your career path, stay connected with us for new openings, upskilling opportunities and industry news.

Get all the latest job details straight to your inbox: Sign up https://breakingground.news/sign-up-form/

PODCAST:  

REAL ESTATE: www.irishrealestate.news

Residential 

Property of the week 

An A-rated family home in the heart of a village on Donegal’s Wild Atlantic Way: Contemporary Wild Atlantic Way property with underfloor heating throughout and acres of space to enjoy its bewitching views https://evoke.ie/home-style/an-a-rated-family-home-in-the-heart-of-a-village-on-donegals-wild-atlantic-way 

Commercial 

PODCAST: The Property Roundup on iPropertyRadio.com

Produced by Katie Tallon 

All Property Round Up episodes – https://ipropertyradio.com/property-roundup/

FACEBOOK group for homebuyers and investors in Ireland 2024: https://www.facebook.com/groups/IrishPropertyBuyers/ 

Further property resources at: https://www.amazon.com/Carol-Tallon/

PROPTECH, CONSTRUCTION TECH & SMART CITIES: https://prop-tech.ie/

Proptech Ireland is updating the database of 2025 Irish technology providers for the built environment – sign up here: https://prop-tech.ie/register/  and email product or service details to hello@prop-tech.ie

  • Proptech Ireland: Ireland’s CONSTRUCTION and REAL ESTATE ESG technologies resource hub. Confused about how and where to start on your ESG journey? Contact us 👉https://prop-tech.ie

PODCAST: The Proptech Hot Seat on iPropertyRadio.com

Produced by Katie Tallon

All previous episodes of the Proptech Hot Seat can be found at https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hAEpymn6vnSmFt4WXloS0IQNfUkdw2G&si=qeT3RSVaXBPX3Sxd

Proptech Hot seat is sponsored by Proptech Ireland, the hub for innovators, investors and industry leaders https://prop-tech.ie/ 

Produced by Katie Tallon, with Hear Me Roar Media on sound https://hearmeroarmedia.com 

All Proptech Hot Seat episodes –  https://ipropertyradio.com/proptech-hot-seat/ 


INFRASTRUCTURE, ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT & BIODIVERSITY


INTERNATIONAL NEWS