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Sunday Property Round-Up 28th December 2025


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

Message from Carol Tallon:

HOUSING❓ What we got RIGHT in 2025 – What we got WRONG  – And the single greatest THREAT to housing delivery in the lifetime of the current government 

As we close out 2025, it’s worth being clear about what the Irish housing system finally began to get right – and what remains stubbornly broken.

We saw decisive action where drift had become indefensible. Policy corrections were made, not always early, but finally with intent. Value for money entered the conversation in a meaningful way, though still too cautiously for a system absorbing billions annually with limited accountability. There was also overdue scrutiny of the State’s over-reliance on Approved Housing Bodies to deliver social housing at scale – even if that scrutiny was quietly undermined when the Department buried the AHB performance report during the November launch of Building Homes, Delivering Communities, despite the report being dated June 2025.

Critically, 2025 marked a growing acceptance of a reality housebuilders have long known and tried to explain: zoning does not equal delivery capacity. Land without infrastructure is not housing-ready. On that front, the work of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce stands out as a genuinely monumental step forward. Multi-annual funding, clearer policy prioritisation, and more honest public messaging began to align. Uisce Éireann set the standard. MetroLink is reshaping procurement culture. These cannot remain exceptions. If we are serious about delivery, we must be honest about what it takes to deliver for the nation. Positive steps such as Urban Development Zones point in the right direction – but only if backed by execution.

What we continue to get wrong is just as stark.

Local authorities remain under-resourced and under-empowered, pulled into an identity crisis where process overwhelms purpose. They serve communities, not central government. Policy continues to move us further away from home ownership. Planning failures are denied rather than addressed. Where the State cannot enable, it must not be allowed to block – yet rural Ireland remains subject to grossly discriminatory policy, choked by disproportionate interpretations of EU environmental intent. Rural proofing commitments are not being honoured, denying up to 37% of our population a fair stake in a ‘Just Transition’. That will no longer be tolerated.

At its simplest, those with the land and capacity to build their own homes must be allowed to house themselves.

The single greatest threat to housing delivery in the lifetime of this government is not a shortage of land, capital, industry capacity, or skills – it is the proposed approach to Judicial Review reform. Well-intentioned, but foolhardy. Repeating what we already know does not work. Scarcity and friction do not deter the most motivated; they simply change who gets through the door. We saw this clearly when millions successfully navigated competitive, tightly timed, and expensive systems to secure tickets for Taylor Swift’s recent Eras tour. In housing, the cost of that lesson is far higher than a missed concert – it is fewer homes, longer delays, and higher prices borne by society.

Time and again, the State demonstrates that it still does not know how to listen to its people. If history has taught us anything, it is that this is the failure we should choose to fix. With Ireland holding the EU Presidency from July 2026, we have an opportunity to pilot New European Bauhaus–aligned technologies that genuinely engage people in their place, in real time, and in good faith – to deliver the common good.

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:

  • Martin Shanahan: Ireland’s economy is strong, but we need to focus on next level of ambition: After the financial crisis, uncertainty slowed investment and delayed essential infrastructure. The result was a decade of catch-up. The risk now is falling into the same pattern: clearing backlogs while neglecting what the next decade demands https://www.irishexaminer.com/business/economy/arid-41762969.html
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 

  • Ardstone has bought a large residentially zoned site in Clondalkin in Dublin (€25m), which is capable of delivering 1,400 new homes https://amp.rte.ie/amp/1550286/

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:  

🎙Leading a Construction Legacy with Clancy

In this episode we meet John O’Shaughnessy, Managing Director of Clancy Construction and Vice President of the Construction Industry Federation to talk about his personal journey into construction and rising up through the ranks; the weight of legacy he feels, leading a family firm established in 1947; the changing nature of construction, touching on RISK, REPUTATION of the industry and RECRUITMENT (and why he won’t meet pay to keep headhunted staff). A CRISIS RESPONSE: John also talks us through the hours and days of the Covid announcement, the decisions that were taken in the moment, and the phone calls he made (and, critically, received) to get his team and light gauge steel supply chain on the ground within weeks.

Produced by Katie Tallon MPRII, iProperty Radio 

Watch in full:  https://youtu.be/_AgCXcRoHeo?si=cnqovxeTDeZsHmai

Watch the entire 2025 series:  https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hAEpymn6vn4kQvpi97pAaD3c5WnLAt9&si=C5bqwRS_l6rwUY4X

CIF Safety Campaign 2025 Podcast 

🎙From the helipad of the new National Children’s Hospital with BAM

In episode 6 of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) Construction Safety Campaign 2025 podcast, Director of Safety, Education & Training, Sean Downey, joins Kathy O’Leary,  Director of Occupational Health & Safety with BAM UK and Ireland on the helipad of the new National Children’s Hospital 

Produced by Katie Tallon MPRII, iProperty Radio 

Watch in full:  https://youtu.be/UkItC4AdC5s?si=EhG48F1SR8FDjxAt

Watch the entire series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hAEpymn6vnhCbgSqe6T8TJTfB9mvD6C&si=ity7U_ANvSSyc0bU

REAL ESTATE: www.irishrealestate.news

Residential 

Property of the week 

€495,000 sought for 18ac Connemara hobby farm with modernised house and shore frontage https://m.independent.ie/farming/farm-property/495000-sought-for-18ac-connemara-hobby-farm-with-modernised-house-and-shore-frontage/a1607426782.html

Commercial 

PODCAST: The Property Roundup on iPropertyRadio.com

🎙PLACEMAKING: How Local Authorities are gearing up for greater housing delivery, with Robert Burns

With the local authorities being instructed (but not necessarily empowered or better resourced) to identify and ready significantly more residential land, the iProperty Radio team visited Monaghan town to speak with Robert Burns, chief executive of Monaghan County Council, to understand housing delivery on the ground. 

In this episode, Robert breaks down demand across social, affordable and private housing and outlines current infrastructure capacity for home builders looking to deliver housing across the county. He also shares his approach to community-led placemaking, aligning with New European Bauhaus principles, and the significance of this for a border county, particularly one that carries the weight of its history. We learn about the commercial and industry drivers for the county including advanced manufacturing, construction (construction manufacturing!), agriculture, agritech and more. Robert speaks frankly about the role of local authority leadership and his reaction/response to the publication of local authority league tables by the department of housing earlier this year. 

Produced by Katie Tallon MPRII, iProperty Radio 

Watch in full:  https://youtu.be/YHiq0Ab_eH0?si=SvXkcqzc8joPvHgx

Watch the entire series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hAEpymn6vmzomMtdcSXkcYsR6A9Kdno&si=wZl2pnCfpfmFagYB

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

🎙Building the Next Generation of Mortgage Technology with Karl Deeter, OnlineApplication

At the tech HQ of OnlineApplication.io, we site down with founder Karl Deeter to talk about how brokers handle about half of Ireland’s mortgage market and how Karl and the team can empower these brokers to provide better outcomes for buyers than going direct to banks. 

He also criticises Ireland’s planning system, noting the country’s ability to solve housing emergencies when motivated (COVID and Ukrainian refugee accommodation) but is not applying the same urgency to the housing crisis now.

  • OnlineApplication is changing Ireland’s mortgage industry by creating technology that processes applications in under 30 minutes with approvals often coming within an hour.

Check out OnlineApplication 👉 https://www.onlineapplication.io/

Produced by Katie Tallon MPRII, iProperty Radio 

Watch in full:  https://youtu.be/UkItC4AdC5s?si=EhG48F1SR8FDjxAt

Watch the entire series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5hAEpymn6vnSmFt4WXloS0IQNfUkdw2G&si=_wlRKB5xwXuNdPJv

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

  • Why are our marine ‘protected’ areas still nothing more than lines on maps? Blanket bans on certain activities, such as towing trawls and dredges across the seafloor, or fixing nets for long periods, or even prohibiting all kinds of fishing or extractive activities from some areas, are urgently needed says ecologist Pádraic Fogarty https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/outdoors/arid-41761934.html

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

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