Last week, both the ministers for Housing and Planning issued revised apartment building guidelines ”aimed at striking a balance between ensuring that apartment development meets the needs of society in terms of standards and quality, while promoting an increased level of delivery overall.’‘
Read more HERE.
To over-summarise, these revised standards include:
- Reduced minimum apartment sizes (minimum size of a studio apartment down from 37 sq.m. to 32 sq. m.)
- Increased flexibility for developers (in DESIGN ONLY!)
- The need to plan for approximately 50,000 additional households per year to 2040. (Extended from 2030 to 2040).
For the full document – click HERE.
Upon reading these revisions, I had to bury my face into my palms. I could see clearly that these revisions were only designed to attract foreign trust investment, and not to empower local SME developers to build affordable homes.
I was also surprised by some claims, especially the claims from the Housing Minister that these changes ‘‘will likely result in some cases in an average of €50k and up to €100k cost reduction per unit and get will get apartment building moving.”
Statements like these make me wonder if we are witnessing the same housing crisis. Again, I am learning as I go so I may be wrong, but I still cannot see how these revisions will benefit Irish residents primarily.
- Why is precious time being spent by government officials to revise building standards no one asked for?
- Why do officials assume that the benefits of lower build costs will actually be passed down to the consumer?
- Why is there little focus on actually improving the planning approvals process for developers?
- How does this make it any easier for local small and medium-sized developers to actually build much needed homes?
Changing regulations around apartment sizes is a distraction from the real structural problems plaguing housing delivery in Ireland. And as a sympathetic observer, I cannot help but think that the Housing department is actively trying NOT to resolve the housing crisis at this point.
Why This Change in Apartment Building Standards feels Tone-Deaf.
1. Smaller Apartments ≠ More Builders.
Just because 15 ‘units’ can now take up the space previously required by 13 ‘units’, does not necessarily mean that new developers will magically appear out of the woodwork to deliver more homes.
- Many existing Irish small and medium builders still cannot access the financing they need to deliver homes. State schemes such as Project Tosaigh are often geared toward large-scale institutional developers like Cairn & Glenveagh (the only two in Ireland), who are most likely to benefit from these revised legislations. Without real access to money, these policy changes are only cosmetic and do not benefit small and medium-sized builders.
- Also, we cannot forget that Irish banks are reluctant to lend to small developers despite falling interest rates, and to also reduce exposure after harsh lessons learned from the 2008 housing crisis.
So if increased supply is the goal here, how exactly will current developers suddenly start building more apartments?
2. Planning Delays Still Stall Progress
We have discussed many times how difficult it can be to get planning approval in Ireland. And this is still a major issue during this housing crisis.
- Applications can take months, and sometimes years (unless you’re a large-scale developer)
- Appeals can drag out into court reviews
- Sometimes, local opposition can often blocks viable projects
So why revise apartment legislation, if you will not event grant permissions for them to be built in the first place?
Revising apartment rules while ignoring the need for real planning reform and digitisation is like painting a house with no walls. Even with new apartment design changes, the crazy slow Irish planning system remains untouched.
Faster approvals (even for a definite amount of time), will help increase supply faster than smaller apartments in my opinion.
3. Foreign Investment isn’t the Only Solution – What of the €14 Billion Apple Tax Fund already paid to the Irish Exchequer?
At this time, Ireland relies very heavily on foreign investment trusts to fund the building of private homes. Personally, I find this over-reliance not only unethical but downright sad – as the primary focus of these funds is growth at any cost, and not welfare. This also leaves the country very vulnerable to global risk sentiment.
Say for example, if interest rates go up or if Ireland suddenly runs into geopolitical issues, the foreign investment tap will be shut off overnight. Just like that.
- Now, on May 2025, the €14 billion that was owed to Ireland by Apple had been fully collected by the Irish Exchequer and is currently being managed by the Department of Finance.
So imagine my surprise when the state is talking about ‘investment strategies’ on this fund, instead of focusing on investing/providing social housing during a very obvious housing crisis.
Though this amount is only 10% of the required 150bn needed to ease the housing crisis, it is still significant enough to make some headway. Also, this is guilt-free money that isn’t bled from the common taxpayer. So why is there so much silence around this?
Any regime with even a little bit of willpower or dignity could use this fund to:
- Extend the role of the LDA as a state-owned direct social housing builder or create a scheme to that effect
- Launch direct grants to small and medium-sized local builders so they can build more
- Improve utilities infrastructure for Uisce Eireann and ESB so that they can supply homes better. (Lord knows Irish Water could use some money right now).
That would be bold, active policymaking – not political pretense.
4. Cheaper to Build does not mean Cheaper to Buy.
Let us pretend, just as the Minister for Housing said, that this change in legislation could reduce each apartment’s cost to build by 50K to 100K. Can an apartment-buyer also expect this saving to show up in the selling price?
Of course not.
A 5-figure saving per unit sounds great, but any smart developer will simply pocket the savings and sell the smaller apartment at market price. With increasing demand and low supply, prices are set by the market, not build cost.
- This also means that potential buyers will be paying even more for less, as there is absolutely zero guarantee these smaller units will be priced lower for consumers.
Clearly, affordability is not the goal here – only supply. And with the current planning laws, even that is highly doubtful.
5. Unrealistic Targets
Delivering 50,000 homes per year until 2040 not only sounds ambitious, but also disingenuous. Ireland has yet to hit even 33,000 annually since 2022.
Initially, the goal was to build 50,000 houses per year until 2030. Now, this has been sneakily changed to 2040 in the hopes that we wouldn’t notice.
Unfortunately, Ireland is currently plagued by:
- Labour shortages
- Planning delays
- Weak incentives for builders
Without clear plans for workforce growth, infrastructure upgrades, and funding, these targets are just terrible PR. And it’s not working.
6. The Human Cost of Shrinking Apartments.
When we continue to talk about apartments as “units,” we lose sight of what a home really means.
It means safety, family, memories, dignity. Reducing the size without improving quality or access, risks degrading the lived experience for thousands. Particularly those with children or care needs.
Also, reducing the sizes of homes will make us used to the idea of smaller, confined spaces. I worry that homes and apartments will continue to get smaller, so much so that the ideas of family, friendship and companionship become even more distant within a generation or two. This will further cultivate a culture of isolation and loneliness, which is already being made worse by the convenient mobile phone & entertainment technology we have today.
All it takes is one legislation like this to go into effect, and the snowball continues to get larger.
Modular Construction – A Viable Strategy?
If the government is really serious about delivering homes quickly and affordably, it must invest part of the readily available 14billion into modern methods of construction (MMC) and modular social housing.
| Benefit | Modular Construction Offers |
|---|---|
| Speed | – Homes built in weeks, not months – Also not affected by weather delays since ‘modules’ are built in a factory |
| Predictable Costs | Less fluctuation in social housing design makes it easier for budgeting |
| Local benefit | Supports SME builders and creates employment |
| Flexibility | You can tailor specific designs for urban or rural use |
| Environmental Advantages | Reduced waste and lower carbon footprint |
Local authorities should be empowered to initiate modular social housing projects. With the right management, these can become scalable and increase supply faster.
Conclusion
Planning reform, financing access, and large-scale public investment (not shrinking floorplans) are actions that will actually fix Ireland’s housing crisis. Until then, efforts such as revised apartment guidelines feel like rearranging the furniture in a burning house.
If the Ministers in charge of Housing and Planning are truly committed to solving this crisis (which I now think they aren’t), they must look beyond wasting precious time on superficial reforms, grow a pair and pressure the Department of Finance to channel some of that Apple money into projects/investments that actually matter.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter.
