A recent survey shows that more than 70% of companies identified the availability of housing for staff as a challenge to their business operations in 2023, with 30% identifying it as a major challenge. More than 27% of businesses identified the impact of housing availability on employees as one of their top three external priorities for their business.
The crisis in the availability of affordable housing in Ireland is becoming the critical barrier to the continued growth and development of business investment. Setting out 10 steps the Government should take, proposed measures would reduce the cost of a €400,000 home by €30,000.
Their proposals include a VAT refund worth 5% of a new home on a temporary basis to help offset the rising costs of construction, increase funding through the Irish Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) and through Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) to ensure adequate development finance in the market, greater security for tenants, the improved tax treatment of landlords’ expenses, and an NCT-type system for rental homes. Figures released show the State surpassed the target of 24,600 new homes last year, with just under 30,000 completed in the 12 months to the end of December. The figure was a 45% increase on 2021.
However, concern remains that this level of delivery is both unsustainable and inadequate. While an average, annual target of 33,000 homes is set under the Government’s Housing For All plan, ministers have conceded that given Ireland’s rising population, it would need closer to 40,000 each year.
The target for 2023 is 29,000, but this may prove a challenge. In recent months, there has been growing concern that the number of new homes commencing construction is slipping. Figures for last year show work began on 27,000 new homes. The crisis in the availability of affordable housing in Ireland is becoming the critical barrier to the continued growth and development of business investment.
An inadequate supply of affordable housing is the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible. The housing crisis has increasingly become a concern in relation to cohesion in the workplace and society more broadly.
