Francis Noel Duffy (Dublin South West, Green Party)
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287. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of new housing builds from 2019 annually; and the number of labour workers involved in the delivery of the new housing builds from 2019 annually. [34502/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Data in relation to new dwelling completions is published by the CSO on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the following link:

www.cso.ie/en/statistics/construction/newdwellingcompletions/

5,669 new homes were added to the national housing stock in Q1 2022. This represents a 44.5% increase from 3,923 completions in Q1 2021 (when there were COVID-19 restrictions in place) and is 15.1% higher than the 4,926 completions in the last pre-pandemic quarter of Q1 2020. This is the most completions seen in any first quarter since this data series began in 2011. In the 12 months to the end of March 2022, a total of 22,219 new homes were completed. This year, the Government’s target under Housing for All is 24,600 new homes.

In addition, latest CSO figures show planning permissions for all residential dwellings are up 22.7% in the year ending Q1 2022 (44,491) when compared to the same time period to Q1 2021 (36,252). In the past 12 months (June 2021 to May 2022), Commencement Notices for 30,233 new homes were received.

Together, the figures point to a substantial uplift in new housing supply in the coming years, as we increase output to average of at least 33,000 new homes per year. This increase in supply will be key to meeting demand, moderating price inflation, and addressing affordability for those wishing to rent or buy their own home.

Data in relation to the number of persons employed in the construction sector is also published by the CSO on a quarterly basis as part of their Labour Force Survey. This can be accessed via the following link:

www.cso.ie/en/statistics/labourmarket/labourforcesurveylfs/

The construction sector is recovering well since the onset of the pandemic and the associated lockdowns that brought a halt to almost all building projects in the country. The most recent Labour Force Survey, compiled by the CSO, details that the construction sector now has 10,000 more workers than pre-Covid figures, standing at 159,300 workers in Q1 2022. This is over 30,000 more workers in the construction sector when compared to Q1 2021.

Central to delivering on the ambition of Housing for All is the need for additional construction sector workers. The number of construction workers involved in residential construction will need to rise to 67,500 by the middle of the decade to achieve an annual average delivery of 33,000 homes.

This will be achieved through a variety of means, including up-to-date forecast of labour demand and supply for the construction sector, and implementing measures necessary to fast-track sufficient numbers into the residential construction workforce. This includes, but is not limited to an integrated education, training and activation response, including delivery of new courses and apprenticeships, working with industry stakeholders, through the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform-led Construction Sector Group, to review and promote the attractiveness of careers in the construction sector, recourse to international labour markets where supply is unavailable locally, including facilitating recruitment from abroad and changes to employment permit schemes where necessary, and encouraging participation in the Irish market by international construction firms and builders.