Key Takeaways
| Issue | Details |
|---|---|
| Current consultation | Public asked to give views on planning exemptions (attic conversions, heat pumps, subdivisions, detached backyard units). Participate HERE. |
| Local framing (Cork) | Modular cabins pitched as flexible backyard options for downsizers or relatives. Read HERE. |
| National framing (Gov.ie) | Efficiency: free up planners for large-scale housing by removing “small” applications. |
| Problem | Modular is still seen as “cabins in gardens”, not mainstream estates, terraces, or apartments. |
| Timeline risk | Even after consultations, reforms could take months or years to enact, delaying change. |
| Bigger concern | Without urgency, younger generations lose faith, emigration worsens, and modular housing remains stigmatised. |
| What’s needed | A shift: treat modular as a core building method for dignified, scalable homes — not as a side fix. |
Introduction – A Consultation That Speaks Volumes.
On July 29, the Irish Government launched a four-week public consultation on exempted development regulations. This is a crucial housing announcement I missed completely, and I apologise.
On paper, it sounds promising. Homeowners could soon:
- build attic conversions
- install rooflights or heat pumps
- subdivide existing homes to enable living-in-situ by older people and other family members, or
- add detached habitable accommodation in their gardens
all without needing planning permission.
Locally, Senator Eileen Lynch told Cork residents that this is about “cutting red tape”, in order to make housing more flexible, affordable, and sustainable. In her recent invitation to Cork residents to participate in this public consultation, she also indicated that smaller modular homes could provide valuable options for downsizers, carers, and young adults saving for mortgages. Irish Independent.
On their official website, the Department of Housing positioned this differently. Their aim is to unblock planning offices, and to allow councils to focus on large housing developments while allowing homeowners to deal with small projects more quickly.
Two framings, one consultation.
But what does it really tell us about where Ireland currently stands on modular housing and planning reform?
Modular Housing – Still Relegated to Backyard Cabins.
Let’s address the elephant in the room.
If you did not know, there was a successful modular social housing project in Ballymun in 2016. It included 22 two-storey, three-bedroom terraced homes that were built in 16 weeks without clear compromises in quality (Irish Examiner).
Now, there has to be a reason why the Irish government stopped building homes like these since, and I intend to find out. But that’s for another time.
And yes, it is encouraging to me that “modular homes” are being considered at the government level again since then, but the framing is depressingly narrow this time.
In February 2025, the Irish government floated plans to relax planning rules on cabins and modular homes in back gardens. These “backyard units” are seen as flexible spaces for:
- Elderly parents who want to downsize while staying near family.
- Carers or relatives needing independent but close accommodation.
- Young adults saving for a mortgage.
That may sound practical but it is hardly a dignified housing policy. A garden cabin is NOT the same as a real home.
- A young couple cannot realistically raise a family in a small detached modular box hidden behind their parents’ house.
- A young professional cannot build a sense of achievement, independence, or security in what feels like a glorified outhouse.
- For many, it risks becoming a symbol of compromise, of settling for less, while the property ladder and dignified homeownership remains out of reach.
By boxing modular into this narrow niche, the government risks cementing modular construction as only a temporary, stop-gap solution in Ireland; suitable only for the elderly or transitional living.
This ignores the true reality: modular techniques are being used to build entire estates, terraced housing, and even multi-storey apartment blocks at speed, scale, and lower cost.
If Ireland truly wants to keep its next generation of young talent, modular cannot remain a synonym for “backyard cabins.”
The Benefits of Public Consultation for Review of Exempted Development.
Whew, I needed to get that out of my chest first. So let us continue.
Despite these frustrations, I have to acknowledge what’s good about the proposed reforms.
1. Cutting Red Tape.
Ireland’s planning system is notoriously slow, and is often delayed by judicial reviews or inconsistent decisions. Exempting small projects from planning frees up time for councils to focus on larger developments.
2. Supporting Sustainability.
Heat pumps use electricity instead of burning oil, gas or coal, and they are 3–4 times more efficient than traditional boilers. Attic conversions often involve adding insulation and rooflights, which reduce heat loss and improve natural lighting.
These align with climate goals and energy efficiency.
3.Adapting to Changing Needs.
Subdivision and backyard accommodation can help families deal with changing life stages; from caring for elderly parents to supporting adult children. This is really handy in a time when prices continue to rise much faster than income.
While I believe that all of these are worthwhile, none of them are real game-changers for a housing crisis that has forced thousands into emigration, homelessness, or long-term renting.
The Real Problem: Timelines and Trust.
I believe that public consultations of this nature may feel participatory, but they often drag. The public consultation closes on 26 August 2025, but then what?
Here is what I think, and please be advised – the below opinions are strictly my own.
- BEST CASE – exempted development reforms are enacted into housing regulations by December 2025, with any real change visible in mid 2026.
- REALISTIC CASE – mid to late 2026 before regulations are updated.
- WORST CASE – multi-year delays while debates, lobbying, and bureaucratic reviews pile up.
And this is just for exemptions like attic conversions and heat pumps, which are straightforward, low-risk adjustments.
If the government cannot move quickly on such reforms, how can I have faith in its ability to deliver faster structural housing solutions?
Too often, public consultations can become symbolic exercises. A charade of “public input” where outcomes are already pre-decided, but implementation is allowed to drag on for no reason.
Stop wasting my time with these consultations, and just implement the exemptions you suggested into housing legislation already. Clearly, you already know what needs to be done. You also know that you can reverse the decision in a year if the new exemptions don’t deliver as expected.
That lack of urgency is corrosive in my opinion.
And for young Irish citizens and residents struggling to rent, buy, or stay in the country, it fuels disillusionment. Every delay indicates that their future is not a priority.
Modular Construction as a Dignified, Fast & Scalable Housing Solution.
This is why it is so important to shift the conversation.
Modular housing is not just for garden cabins. Properly embraced, it can:
- Deliver large estates quickly – modular terraced homes can be built MUCH faster than traditional methods.
- Create affordable apartments – multi-storey modular complexes already exist in cities like London, New York, and Amsterdam.
- Scale nationally – factories can mass-produce units at consistent quality, reducing reliance on traditional labour which is unfortunately in short supply at this time.
- Support sustainability – modular homes are energy-efficient, with lower carbon footprints both in production and operation.
Imagine if the government treated modular not as a sideshow but as a primary delivery method for social housing estates. Ireland could shift from endless “targets” to actual, rapid supply.
A Need for Both Balance and Urgency.
Yes, planning exemptions for small projects should be enacted quickly. Attic conversions, rooflights, heat pumps, these are all common sense at this point and overdue. Backyard cabins may help some families, and that’s fine.
But let’s be clear: this is not housing policy. It’s tinkering.
I do not believe for one second that Ireland canncanot solve an existential housing crisis through attic conversions and garden cabins alone.
What ireland needs is urgency at a different scale:
- Immediate rollout of modular housing for social housing estates.
- Promotion & Inclusion of modular techniques in apartment block tenders.
Final Words
The public consultation on exempted developments may prove worthwhile, but it risks becoming a distraction if we treat it as transformative. At best, it removes minor obstacles. At worst, it reinforces the idea that modular housing is nothing more than cabins in gardens.
For Ireland’s young adults, emigrants, and families stuck in limbo, this is not good enough. They need real homes, not temporary fixes.
The government must move beyond backyard thinking and embrace modular as a serious building method. Otherwise, Ireland risks another decade of drift while the next generation quietly leaves.
