Housing Crisis Ireland – Planning & Housing News

The Spain snap election scheduled for 29 November 2026 comes around 8 months earlier than originally expected. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the election after his government suffered a major parliamentary defeat over emergency housing measures/decrees, against the backdrop of growing protests about rents, evictions and housing affordability. EL PAÍS English For somebody outside Spain,

The Maricarmen Abascal housing return in Madrid is one of the most prolific stories to emerge from Spain’s housing crisis in recent times. The 87-year-old was evicted from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for more than 70 years, taken to hospital following the eviction, and then offered the opportunity to return to the

The Spanish housing crisis is now one of Europe’s biggest political stories. Thousands are protesting over rising rents and evictions, thousands of young adults are struggling to leave their parents’ homes, and Spain’s central bank estimates that the country already has a housing shortage of around 750,000 homes. Spain was at the centre of one

Recent housing market trends in Dublin’s commuter counties provide an interesting lesson on how house prices work. An Irish Times news report explained that house price growth has almost stopped in parts of Dublin, and has been relatively flat in commuter counties; Meath, Louth and Wicklow. This usually happens when there is more supply to

Ireland has more than 60,000 households that are facing unmet social housing need; while thousands of existing council homes remain vacant at any particular time. Irish Independent While that may sound alarming during a housing crisis, the latest vacant social housing units report from the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) presents a more complicated

Recent figures on the demographics of Dublin social housing applicants have sparked debate online, after reports that 42% of households on Dublin City Council’s social housing waiting list are non-Irish. This debate is even more important, given that to the best of my ability, I could find no reports on these figures by major Irish

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has today (16 September 2026) received approval from Cabinet to move MetroLink to the detailed tender stage, where market bids will be sought and partners selected to build and operate MetroLink – National Transport. The planned 19km metro will connect Swords in north Dublin with Charlemont on the south side,

On September 09, 2026, the European Commission proposed new rules, known as the Affordable Housing Act, that could make it easier for governments and local authorities to restrict Airbnb and other short-term rentals in areas experiencing serious housing pressure. It comes amid concern across Europe that in some cities and popular tourist areas, homes that

From late July 2026, certain detached habitable accommodation, including back-garden modular structures and granny flats, can now be built without planning permission, provided they meet a range of strict conditions. The Irish Times. These changes are part of wider planning regulation reforms introduced by the Department of Housing and hope to give homeowners greater flexibility.

New GeoDirectory figures reported by RTÉ show a strong rise in residential construction activity. More than 30,000 residential buildings were under construction in June 2026, almost 28% more than a year earlier. RTE News There are positive signs elsewhere too. After years of housing shortages, rising rents and growing house prices, I have to admit