James Cox
The Government has been urged to support the renovation of vacant homes and shop properties to boost housing supply.
It comes as the focus on new builds dominated headlines this week.
A total of 30,330 were built in 2024, a decrease of 6.7 per cent on 2023, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), and falling short of the government's target of 33,450 newbuilds.
Micheál Martin and Simon Harris made several statements in the final months of 2024 that around 40,000 homes would be built that year.
They have been criticised by opposition parties, who accused them of misleading the public.
Minister for Housing James Browne has said that his focus will not be on projections but on the actual delivery of new homes.
“We need to build, build, build," he said.
Hardware Association Ireland has requested a meeting with the Minister to discuss a number of proposals, including support for the rejuvenation of empty properties.
Hardware Association Ireland chief exeuctive Martin Markey told BreakingNews.ie that his group has projections that estimate there will be 36,500 new builds this year.
He added: "Going any further than that will be very difficult at the moment. There are so many constraints out there on the housing market."
Mr Marking said "regenerating empty homes has huge potential".
Go to any country town, any city, anywhere around the country. We have a huge vacancy level.
"That, bizarrely, gives us a huge opportunity in terms of the housing crisis. There were 167,000 empty homes in Ireland in the last Census.
"When we whittle that down to what is really doable, the condition of some of them is too bad, you come to a figure of 40,000 that could be done at a reasonable rate.
"By a reasonable rate, I mean the purchase price and renovation price would end up roughly the equivalent of a second-hand house in the area.
"With those 40,000, if we put in place the suite of incentives that are available including the vacant homes grants, €50,000 for a vacant home and another €20,000 for a derelict home, then you can weave that in with SEAI [ustainable Energy Authority of Ireland] grants, it's quite good."
He pointed out that there were 10,000 applications for the vacant homes grant at the end of quarter 3 last year, a figure which has likely increased since then.
There's huge potential in the rejuvenation of empty homes.
Mr Markey added: "Then if you look at above the shops, we estimate there are another 20,000 that could be brought back into life.
"Between empty homes and above the shops, there are 40,000 empty units. You won't do that in a year, but if they're to be let into the system, 8,000 units per annum would help increase the housing figures.
"In the context of where we are, we need to look at this additional housing of places that have been let go.
"It's an area of hope and one that is working, there is huge consumer demand out there and in 11 of the 26 counties, if the bulk of those applications go through; rejuvenated empty homes will be the single largest form of additional housing in those counties.
"There will be more rejuvenated empty homes than apartments, than single dwellings, than houses in housing estates. That's how big this is, but it's very localised.
"There's parts of the country, Donegal, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Mayo, so it's the western seaboard and parts of the Midlands. It's very concentrated in 11 counties, but it's huge.
"The current price of a new build three-build last year was €397,000, much more in the greater Dublin area. In other areas, it was around €354,000.
"No builder is going into a field to build three-bedroom semi-detached houses, because they won't be able to sell them at €354,000.
"There's huge potential in the rejuvenation of empty homes."
He pointed to the number single people on housing lists, adding that vacant properties above shops would be ideal for them.
"We have an opportunity to rejuvenate our towns and villages. The other aspect is from climate change, the embodied carbon is much less than in a new build.
"You're also making use of an infrastructure that is already there... the water, the electricity.
"The time from beginning to end is shorter, about a year and a half. It sounds like a long time, but in terms of housing, it's a quick win.
"It would get us out of part of our problem, it would not obviate the whole problem, because we need to build tens of thousands of new homes, no question. This would only add to the solution.
"If you go to mainland Europe, towns and cities are densely populated because they didn't do what we did in the 60s. They didn't move out of the town and build a bungalow three miles outside... they stayed and they're beautiful buildings.
"We've requested a meeting with the Housing Minister as soon as possible, to emphasise the potential of these empty homes."
Mr Markey's group holds regular information evenings across the country. He said they started at around 50 people, but the most recent meeting in Ballymote, Co Sligo, attracted 250 people.
This a quick win, and there are not too many quick wins in housing.
"It was local people, a lot of them with their adult children looking at options for them. A new build at €354,000 isn't an option for a lot of people, but to buy and rejuvenate an older home is an option, there is an appetite for this out there."
Mr Markey said his group also wants to propose funding for more vacant homes officers when they meet Mr Browne.
"The grants for vacant homes are quite good, the constraint is each local authority only has one vacant homes officer. In Waterford for example, there are 248 grant applications, so the number of vacant homes officers needs to be increased. We've put that in our request to the Government, and it's also in the programme for government.
"This a quick win, and there are not too many quick wins in housing, this is working and has the potential to work better.
"The other thing we want is to take the shackles off people looking to build their own homes. If we had a properly functioning housing market the regulations on one-off housing in country areas would make sense, we're in such a deficit at the moment that they make no sense."
For the latest Waterford News and Sport, tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.
