Full coverage: Housing

The EU is planning an expansive effort to loosen state aid rules for local authorities on housing. The Department of Housing has seconded officials to help.

“I think an awful lot of the criticism is based upon knowledge of our organisation three years ago,” says An Coimisiún Pleanála’s new CEO. In his first major interview, Peter Mullan explains how he is turning the ship around.

MDS, the builders of the Ringfort Estate in Co Meath, had tried to take over the site last year with an offer of €3m. But the offer was turned down by the receivers as too low.

The housing estate in Rathmolyon, Co Meath, was aimed at first-time buyers but when it ran into trouble it featured extensively in the media. Now a liquidator has been appointed to it.

Now in his 16th budget debate as Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson, Pearse Doherty outlines ideological differences with the Government on housing, the taxation of large and small businesses, and income redistribution in a cost-of-living crisis.

The Government hopes to boost delivery as it lags behind targets amid a constant crisis. But will the moves have the desired effect and what for those trying to get on the housing ladder or struggling to make rent?

Ireland does not suffer from too many homes. It suffers from too few. Vacancy is not the challenge. Scarcity is.

Oliver Callan’s review of Leo Varadkar’s memoir criticised the former Taoiseach’s attitude towards the “housing disaster”. Complex issues deserve better than simple words.

For years, the Cosgrave Property Group has tried to unlock a vast development site on the edge of Bray. The firm is now turning to the High Court.

Regulations should be judged not by their aims but by their effects. From housing standards to climate policy, well-meaning rules in Ireland risk pricing people out of homes and stifling urban renewal — unless policymakers properly weigh costs, benefits, and trade-offs.