Department of Finance officials told then minister Jack Chambers on the eve of the General Election being called that the number of houses likely to be built by the end of 2024 would be lower than the Government's 40,000 builds prediction, an internal document shows.
Sinn Féin's Finance Spokesperson Pearse Doherty revealed the situation after receiving the internal Department of Finance correspondence through a Dáil parliamentary question, saying there was "a conscious decision to mislead the Irish public".
In response, Mr Chambers said he rejects "the assertions" made by Mr Doherty and said many different bodies and agencies were giving "varied projections on housing numbers at the time which were in the public domain".
According to the parliamentary question response, on 6 November the department sent the monthly housing update report for November 2024 to then-finance minister Jack Chambers.
The first point of the "detailed information" section of the report reads: "Growth in new dwelling completions at 6% represented the first growth on an annual basis in any quarter this year. The figures to date are broadly in line with recent revisions to completions forecasts from the Central Bank for 2024, which point to housing output similar to or slightly lower than last year [2023]."
In a separate "main points" section of the same report, it reads: "There were 21,634 new homes completed in the first nine months of the year, 3.1% lower than the same period in 2023.
"The outturn for completions appears to be broadly consistent with recent downward revisions to forecasts from the Central Bank, which project housing output to be similar to 2023."
The report also notes that in Dublin, there were 7,670 new homes built in the first three quarters of 2024, 9% lower than the same period in 2023.
The parliamentary question response confirms the document was sent to Mr Chambers and his senior officials on 6 November and finalised on 8 November.
The General Election was declared on 8 November.
In a statement, Mr Chambers said: "The Minister for Finance receives a monthly housing update which summarises reports, projections and publications in the public domain.
"The November 2024 submission referenced CSO data published on 24 October 2024 and previous Central Bank projections."
Mr Chambers said "this information was not new" and the CSO data had been published two weeks earlier and was debated in the Dáil on the day it was published.
He added he was "already aware of these inputs from the CSO and the Central Bank".
Mr Chambers is currently in Chile representing Ireland as part of the St Patrick's Day festivities.
While the Government is likely to argue that its General Election projection of 40,000 home completions in 2024 was a target, the latest document is likely to add to further criticism after other recent projected reports from the period also suggested the 40,000 figure would be missed.
Speaking to reporters at Leinster House, Pearse Doherty said he believes the figures show the Government's "pathway to 40,000" homes being built last year was "simply untrue".
Mr Doherty said Mr Chambers should now explain "why he deliberately misled the public hours before the General Election was triggered" and asked if the information was also given at this time to Micheál Martin and Simon Harris.
Asked if this is a resigning matter, Mr Doherty said "I think we need to hear from Jack Chambers first", saying in his view the minister has been "caught red-handed".
Mr Doherty said in his view the figures "of course changed the outcome of the election, it's going to change the debate of the election", and added in his view "from the documentation we have there was a conscious decision to mislead the Irish public".
"Why did the minister decide to say black was white?" Mr Doherty asked.
