The delivery of thousands of new social homes is facing delay due to Government approval and funding issues, according to social housing organisations.
Projected deliveries have been revised down by more than 3,000 homes across the next three years, according to figures released to Prime Time by the Irish Council for Social Housing, the representative group for Approved Housing Bodies.
The planned homes are at risk of "either being lost or delayed into 2027," CEO Donal McManus said, adding that an approval processes that had been taking three to four months can now take double that time.
AHBs are independent, not-for-profit organisations that provide housing for individuals and families who cannot afford to rent privately or purchase their own homes.
They house people from council housing lists, developing housing in addition to the homes provided directly by local authorities.
Clúid Housing, which is one of the largest such providers, is awaiting funding approval for nine construction projects with more than 1,000 homes due to start this year.
"Homes that should have been delivered in 2025 might not be, or if they are it will be into next year," CEO Brian O'Gorman said.
Prime Time visited the site of one Clúid project which it says has been significantly delayed. The development of 51 cost rental apartments at the Willows, Dunshaughlin, Co Meath has planning permission and is fully serviced with utilities.
"We would have anticipated being on site in October or November, but we are still waiting for the funding to come through," Mr O’Gorman explained.
Under the cost rental model, rents for homes are set to cover only the cost of financing, building, managing and maintaining the homes, not market rates or profit for landlords.
"There are 51 households who would have moved in. That's the real consequence of this, we're not meeting the housing crisis."
When asked about the project by Prime Time, the Department of Housing said funding approval for the development was given in March and a drawdown request has yet to be made.
Clúid said the approval referred to was approval in principle, which it noted took nine months to be received. It said since March it has been going through the remaining administrative steps which require completion in order access the funding.
"What should have started on site last year still hasn't started and that's becoming a pattern all over the country," Mr O'Gorman added.
Fiona Cormican, who worked as a senior manager in the AHB sector for years and is now an industry consultant, told the programme that the current environment is marked by extreme uncertainty: "Confidence is at rock bottom at the moment."
While previously, delays in planning and infrastructure were expected and accounted for, funding delays are now adding a new layer of difficulty, according to Ms Cormican. Mixed housing schemes (social, cost rental, private) are particularly vulnerable if funding for one part is delayed.
"I've never in all my years in housing seen so much uncertainty."
Developers and AHBs do not know if they are going to receive funding approval and "lack of certainty in a market costs money," she said.
"In fact, from what I can see, the Department of Housing doesn't seem to have control here at the moment. This seems to be a funding issue beyond their control."
Asked about the concerns during a Prime Time interview, Minister for Housing James Browne said he was confident that there was a "very strong pipeline of social and affordable housing", adding an additional €450 million euro had been approved for this year.
"We're confident that funding is being released as quickly as possible."
He said the department was assessing value for money but "simply putting in an application doesn't guarantee funding."
The Department of Housing said there was a record €6.8bn of investment for the delivery of housing in 2025.
It said while the assessment of new applications under the Capital Advance Leasing Facility (CALF) scheme, the main fund used by AHBs to provide social housing, was paused in mid-November until January, this is "standard operational approach to focus resources on projects which need support to deliver within the calendar year."
Despite the fact some projects are being approved, it is not at the scale needed, the Irish Council for Social Housing said.
It conducted a survey of members, response to which it says reflect more than 80% of the sector. The survey compared forecasts from May last year to this year. A projected delivery of 30,390 social and cost rental homes by 2027 has been revised down by more than 3,000 homes to 27,063.
The sector is still predicting growth, but not at the rates it had earlier anticipated.
"The bottom line is we have a lot of projects that need funding, and there isn't the funding at the moment to do that in a timely fashion," Mr McManus said.
"We don't need our hands tied behind our back."
The Department of Housing told Prime Time it was not possible to comment on the assertions by the ICSH without having the precise details of the projects.
"It should be noted that the housing pipelines are dynamic and developer-led schemes can have a number of potential buyers, aside from the AHB sector," it added.
It said that it expects this year's delivery of social homes by AHBs to be above 2024 levels adding that the 2026 pipeline remains strong and ahead of current rates.
The department is under immense pressure, juggling multiple major initiatives simultaneously, Ms Cormican suggested.
"I've every faith the department is working hard on this. Where the blockage is, I’m not sure, but we need an answer."
According to the CEO of Clúid, Brian O’Gorman, issues with funding could impact expansion in the sector.
"We're becoming slightly more reluctant to engage in new developments because of the uncertainty.
"We stepped up to the plate and we're asking that we continue that and not jeopardise future delivery and future homes."
Reporter Louise Byrne and producer Brídóg Ní Bhuachalla's report on social housing delays will broadcast on the 27 May edition of Prime Time on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
