The Government is set to introduce a public ranking system tracking how all 31 local authorities are performing in delivering social housing, under a plan to be presented to Cabinet today.

Housing Minister James Browne will propose the regular release of performance data, with a particular focus on homes built directly by councils on their own land — so-called “own-build” projects.

Although nearly half of city and county councils surpassed their overall social housing targets last year under the Housing for All plan, performance on direct builds was consistently weak across the board.

Between 2022 and 2024, local authorities delivered just 5,065 own-build homes — meeting only 18 per cent of the national target of 27,400.

Three local authorities met less than 10 per cent of the target – Cork County, Kildare and Louth.

But the other set of figures is overall social housing delivery in that time – when factors like builds from approved housing bodies and the Part V contribution of developers are taken into account.

So while Kildare directly built just 3 per cent of its target in those years, it met 112% of its overall target through other means.

When the overall picture is taken to account, Donegal was the worst performing local authority, delivering just 46% of its target figure.

Dublin City Council is also performing particularly poorly, delivering overall just 49 per cent of its target, and achieving just 11 per cent of its direct build goal.

Waterford vs. National and Peer County Averages

Overall Delivery (2022–2024)

• Waterford delivered 82% of its social housing target, slightly below the national average.

• This places Waterford in the middle tier of county performance.

Own-Build Performance

• Waterford’s own-build performance is slightly above national average, but remains low overall.

• Only 1 in 5 planned own-build homes were delivered.

3. Key Comparisons with Selected Counties

Waterford outperformed major urban areas like Dublin City and Galway County in total target delivery.

Behind Kilkenny, Cork City, and Wexford, which met or exceeded targets.

In a statement to WLR, Waterford City & County Council said: “Between 2022 and 2024, Waterford City and County Council (WCCC) has delivered 82% of its social housing target. Under the Housing for All plan, local authority-led construction is only one component of a broader delivery framework, which also includes Part V, Approved Housing Body (AHB) delivery, as well as schemes such as acquisitions, the repair and lease scheme, and affordable housing delivery.”

“Despite this multi-faceted approach, WCCC remains one of the highest-performing local authorities in terms of direct build delivery, currently outperforming national averages. In addition, WCCC has a robust pipeline of own-delivery housing schemes, ensuring sustained progress into the future.”

“Moreover, between 2022 and 2024, WCCC has achieved 62% of the national target under the Repair and Lease Scheme, placing it significantly ahead of all other local authorities. Additionally, WCCC has delivered 11.8% of all Local Authority-led affordable housing nationwide during the same period, ranking 4th highest nationally in this category and achieving 296% of its assigned target.”

“When all of these delivery streams are taken into account, WCCC has met and is on track to exceed its overall housing targets under the Housing for All programme.”

For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.