The Cabinet has approved a plan from Minister for Housing James Browne to allow developers to apply in certain cases for a three-year planning permission extension.
The move comes as the ESRI will tell an Oireachtas committee that it does not expect any major increase in housing supply this year and next year.
In its opening statement to the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, the ESRI is forecasting that just over 34,000 homes will be delivered in 2025 and 37,000 in 2026.
Additionally, Minister Browne said he believes the judicial review process is being weaponised in order to stop developments going ahead.
He was speaking at a post-Cabinet press conference confirming the law will be changed.
Minister Browne said he believes "judicial reviews have been weaponised by some people" with a view to delay a project long enough, encouraging the project to fall.
"That's not everybody, judicial reviews are a legitimate part of the legal process. That's why under the Planning and Development Act, we are tightening up judicial review to ensure that only those that have a legitimate interest in a project can bring forward objections to it," he added.
On the ESRI's forecast of no major increase in housing supply, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that it was "not enough".
"Four or five years ago Ireland was producing around 20,000 houses a year, now it's producing 30,000 plus houses a year, we need to get up 50,000. It's how to get to 50,000 is where the focus should be," he said.
Mr Martin said that the State was "spending the highest amount ever on record on housing" construction and that that was "correct and proper," but added that more private sector financing of home building was needed.
Minister Browne said permissions "that have been through a judicial review or are currently the subject of a judicial review" would be allowed to apply for "a retrospective suspension of that permission for the period of judicial review".
This will ensure that "a judicial review will not eat into the time left under permission and result in some projects running out of time to begin," he added.
Minister for State for Local Government and Planning John Cummins said that "today's decision by Cabinet is an important, practical and commonsense measure to ensure that sufficient time is given to activate planning permissions for much needed housing across the country".
Mr Cummins said that it is "very much an activation measure", with "terms and conditions" attached.
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Reaching housing targets this year 'extremely challenging' - minister
Additionally, Mr Browne has acknowledged that reaching this year's housing targets will be "extremely challenging".
Asked about the ESRI's warning of no imminent increase in supply, he said the "ESRI are right in pointing out the very real challenges we face".
He welcomed their comments.
There will be "some serious announcements" and further steps in the coming weeks to deliver supply, he promised.
Asked about those measures, he said only that they will go to a meeting of the Cabinet in the coming weeks.
This emergency legislation should be passed before the summer recess.
However, the Social Democrats have expressed concern that this will incentivise land and property speculation rather than getting homes built.
Housing spokesperson Rory Hearne said there should be a use it or lose it approach, rather than extensions.
Additional reporting by Laura Fletcher, Mícheál Lehane and Joe Mag Raollaigh
