The number of homes built so far this year is marginally behind the number of properties completed by this time last year, according to the Central Statistics Office.
In the first nine months of this year, a total of 21,634 houses and apartments were completed compared to 22,325 in the same period in 2023.
The figures would seem to confirm forecasts from economists from the ESRI and the Central Bank who have predicted that housing output will be similar to last year or slightly lower.
Last year there were 32,548 homes built but a number of Government figures, including the Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien, have spoken about potentially completing 40,000 homes this year.
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The new dwelling completions in the third quarter of this were year 6% up on last year, however, the figures for the first and second quarters are behind last year's output.
Housing estates built in the third quarter were up 23%, apartments were down 7% and single dwellings fell 5%.
Economists from the Central Bank have said that Ireland needs to build more than 52,000 homes a year to reduce the housing deficit and deal with the increase in the population over a 25 year period.
Housing plan 'in tatters' - Sinn Féin
In the Dáil, Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Finance said the Government's housing plan is in "tatters".
Pearse Doherty said: "What we needed was a radically different approach ... but all this Government can give us is more of the same.
The Donegal TD accused the Government of living in a delusional state if it believed that 40,000 homes will be delivered this year.
However Minister O'Brien insisted there will be a record number of homes built this year.
He said the final figure is likely to be in the high 30s or early 40,000s and the targets in Housing for All plan will soon be scaled upwards.
'Crisis response' needed for housing in Ireland
In a heated intervention, Mr Doherty accused the minister of misleading the Dáil.
Mr O'Brien said it is a fact that Sinn Féin had objected to more than 6,000 homes in Dublin in recent years.
He added that it was galling to hear Sinn Féin accuse anyone of lying given what the party has been through in recent weeks.
Mr O'Brien also said he is not in a position to say when he will announce revised home building targets, but he told the Dáil that they're being "worked on right now."
He said he could not provide a deadline as the Government has to show how the new targets will be achieved, unlike some opposition politicians which "pluck figures from the sky" and then present plans that "don't stack up."
Government knows how to scale up delivery - O'Brien
Minister O'Brien said that the Government had proven over the past four years that it knows how to scale up delivery, adding that an unprecedented €5.1 billion will be spent on housing this year and €6bn has been earmarked for 2025.
He was replying to Labour leader Ivana Bacik, who said the minister's Housing For All plan had failed and the hike in house prices, rents, evictions and homelessness was holding people and the country back.
The Dublin Bay South TD said the level of need was far higher than the Government's existing plan and this demanded a revision before the general election.
She said it was ridiculous for the minister to be "self congratulatory" when his targets were too low and the need was so high.
Minister O'Brien said he was just giving the facts adding that 125,000 new homes have been delivered by the Government and its targets for this year will be exceeded.
Additional reporting Paul Cunningham, Micheál Lehane
