Recent industry data shows that since 2022, less than 40% of homes granted permission in large residential developments have started construction. Irish Times.
- Large-scale residential developments – each with at least 100 homes – account for 60–70% of all housing permissions in Ireland
- Of roughly 48,000 approved homes, work has begun on only 18,500 units
- Planning permission is not translating into housing delivery for various reasons
- New housing approvals in 2025 fell to their lowest level in 6 years (32,000 approvals)
- Student accommodation delivery is the lowest in two decades, with new beds at a 20-year low
- Industry experts imply that activation, viability, and financing – not planning – are the main barriers to supply
In simple terms:
- Planning permissions are being approved for homes to be built, and
- Demand, though unaffordable, still exists
However, construction is not taking off despite approvals. This implies that Ireland’s housing crisis is not about getting permission; it’s about getting builders to build.
In this blog post, we will be looking at the possible reasons why supply is still slow despite approvals, and how bold & direct intervention by the Government (not market-dependent policies) can help resolve this crisis faster.
Planning Permission Exists – So What are the Possible Reasons for Slow Activation?
1. Many Large Projects are Just not Profitable
Many stalled large housing schemes are not just slightly profitable. They are fundamentally unprofitable under current conditions.
This is because in the years since COVID:
- Borrowing costs increased sharply → Higher interest rates raised borrowing costs, making many housing projects unprofitable from the outset.
- Equity requirements increased → Developers were forced to commit more upfront capital, which many SME builders simply do not have.
- Sales risk increased → Slower sales and high prices increased the risk of unsold units, and this discourages developers from starting projects.
Starting construction would mean locking in losses. So it appears that Developers are not delaying out of choice; they are simply avoiding failure.
HOW THE APPLE FUND CAN HELP.
The €14bn Apple tax windfall, which was finally collected in full by the Irish Government in July 2025, is a once-off, non-recurring amount of money.
- It was money that was owed to the Irish State since 2016
- It is not borne by the common taxpayer, so this fund is an incredible public service
- It is not a foreign loan, so there are no state obligations or strings attached to a foreign lender.
That is precisely why it should be allocated fully as capital to resolve the housing emergency right now, rather than being stored away in the well-intentioned but non-urgent National Development Plan where the money now sits.
In this scenario, the Apple fund can be used to:
- Co-invest alongside developers
This means the State puts some of its own capital into large housing projects, rather than leaving all risk with the developer or private lenders.
- The State becomes a partner and a co-owner, not just a regulator
- The State gets better allocations and prices for public social & cost-rental housing
- Developers need to borrow less
- Banks see lower risk and are more willing to lend to developers
This helps to both increase supply and make new homes available at below-market rates
2. All-or-Nothing Project Designs
Many large developments are designed as single, massive builds with high upfront costs that cannot be phased easily. If the full scheme is unprofitable, no construction would begin even if parts could proceed/succeed.
HOW THE APPLE FUND CAN HELP.
The fund can:
- Enable phased delivery and allow partial site activation
- Support mixed delivery models where direct state building, private developers, and SME builders can be on the same site – with different phases or tenures delivered together to reduce risk and speed up housing supply.
This breaks the deadlock where “everything must work” or nothing starts at all.
3. Policy Uncertainty Raises Risk Premiums
Developers always worry about public policy and uncertainty. So while profit is a major incentive, the margins also need to account for:
- Possible future regulations that could increase costs
- Rent control or sudden rent cap changes
- New building standards that can apply to already-approved projects
- Changes in tax rules that can happen after investment decisions, etc
Even well-meaning policies can raise risk if outcomes are unpredictable. Higher risk means higher financing costs, or no financing at all.
HOW THE APPLE FUND CAN HELP.
Direct State participation can:
- Reduce perceived policy risk
- Anchor long-term commitments
- Signal stability
That alone can unlock stalled projects and encourage much needed houses to be built.
4. Labour Capacity Drains When Work Stalls
Labour shortages are real, but they can become even more binding if activation fails.
When construction sites stall:
- Skilled workers leave the sector
- Firms downsize
- And labour capacity is lost
This makes future recovery harder.
HOW THE APPLE FUND CAN HELP.
By guaranteeing steady pipelines of work, the fund can help to:
- Keeps workers active
- Encourages training and retention
- Supports regional construction that can unlock the real sleeping giants, i.e SME builders
5. Exposure to Judicial Reviews Increases Costs
Judicial reviews do not stop planning permission, but they can delay project timelines by years! As a direct result, these delays increase costs and raise insurance premiums.
That extra risk is more than enough to kill a project in many cases.
HOW THE APPLE FUND CAN HELP.
A large share of judicial reviews succeed or delay projects because the final decisions are procedurally weak, not because projects are inherently bad.
The fund can be used to:
A. Fund Better Decisions Upfront
- Properly staff local authorities and An Bord Pleanála
- Fund specialist environmental, traffic, and housing assessors to produce clearer, more defensible decisions
In this way, the state indirectly funds better decisions upfront so that less reviews happen. The outcome then becomes:
Fewer legal vulnerabilities → fewer reviews filed → faster delivery.
B. Separate “Public-Interest Housing” from Speculative Projects
From what I could find so far, it looks like all large projects sit in the same legal lane in Ireland. If that is indeed the case, then the Apple fund could be used to:
- Create a clearly defined public-interest housing category that can easily bypass judicial reviews.
It can limit this privilege to Social, Cost rental and Student housing. Courts may be less likely to entertain reviews against projects with a strong, documented public need.
C. Create a Fast-Track Judicial Review Track for Housing Projects
Bear in mind that this is not about removing the right to challenge: it’s about setting time limits for judicial reviews.
The Apple fund could:
- Fund dedicated housing planning judges
- Impose strict timelines for filings and hearings
- Prevent tactical delay reviews
This means that reviews could conclude in months and not years.
The Student Accommodation Crisis – The Biggest Activation Failure
Student accommodation should be one of the easiest housing segments to deliver due to its predictable yearly demand, guaranteed high occupancy and long-term income streams
Unfortunately, delivery has consistently collapsed over the years.
It is absurd to think that only 600+ beds were delivered despite planning approval having been granted for 15,000 student beds.
This is a very significant matter because:
- Students now compete with renters and continue to push rent prices to absurd amounts
- Family housing is squeezed
- Housing quality reduces as living rooms become bedrooms
- Local workers are priced out and are forced to move further out, as they cannot match student group bidding power
How the Apple Fund Could Fix This Too
Intentional use of the Apple fund could:
- Make student housing projects less risky
- Support State-backed or university-linked developments
- Enable phased delivery of student beds
- Reduce reliance on private investor confidence
This would in turn free up private rentals in university towns and reduce rent pressure
Final Words
Ireland’s housing system has changed drastically. Housing Construction is not being prevented by permission, but by risk, finance, and confidence.
Under the current market conditions, it now makes sense that approved homes are not being when we need them to.
This is not just a failure of planning entirely.
It is not a failure of builders.
It is not a failure of demand.
It is a failure to activate.
Unfortunately, markets cannot absorb systemic risk alone, but the State can. This is why 14bn the Apple tax fund offers a once-off opportunity to absorb this risk and unlock housing supply in Ireland.
But without bold, intentional intervention, Ireland will continue approving homes that never get built.
