Concern as housing completion figures in Limerick fall year-on-year
Just 872 of 36,000 new homes in Ireland were in Limerick
COMPLETION numbers for new homes across Limerick have fallen year-on-year, sparking concern from the business and construction sectors.
Figures just out from the Central Statistics Office have shown that while more than 36,000 new homes were completed across Ireland last year, just 872 of these were in Limerick.
It represents a fall of 13% between 2024 and 2025. In Galway, housing completions were up 18.9%, while they rose 3.3% in Cork and 3.3% in Dublin.
Limerick Chamber’s chief economist and policy director Sean Golden described the housing situation in Limerick as “really really bad”, in comments initially reported by the Sunday Business Post.
Tom O'Connor, the managing director of Conack Construction added: “We have a housing commencement rate of 36% which is absolutely shocking and lower than the other regions.”
His comments refer to the proportion of homes in the housing pipeline that have commenced construction, with the majority yet to get underway.
According to the statistics, only 87 apartments were completed in Limerick last year.
Galway saw 189 apartments finished, and Cork saw builders complete work at 371 apartments.
Across the last five years, 555 apartments have been built in Limerick, the figures from the Central Statistics Office show.
The Council is now proposing changes to its development plan aimed at facilitating greater building heights and density in appropriate parts of the city.
This is outlined in its development plan, a document, which dictates what can be developed and where.
The move has been welcomed by Joanne Treacy, the Construction Industry Federation's director in the southern region, who made a submission to the same plan.
"A more flexible and evidence-based approach to height is essential to achieving compact growth, particularly in Limerick city centre, regeneration areas and public transport corridors. Height restrictions that are overly conservative can undermine viability and reduce the capacity of key urban areas to accommodate growth,” she warned. Mr Golden added, per The Sunday Business Post.
“We've done such a poor job at distributing housing, and have exhausted our land, while also not densifying Limerick city centre.”
Council last month approved plans to allow the construction of 403 new apartments, in a project ranging from five to eight storeys at the old Parkway Valley site, which has lain idle since the recession in 2008.
The scheme is now facing an appeal to An Coimisiún Pleanála from Environmental Trust Ireland (ETI), which has submitted a 70-page document raising a number of environmental and planning concerns.
Third-party appeals are a normal part of the planning process, and An Coimisiún Pleanála will now consider the concerns raised as part of its assessment.
A decision is due by December 7.
Among its concerns, ETI – the only group to appeal against the plans – claims the development lies on an already elevated site with direct hydrological connections to the Lower River Shannon Special Area of Conservation.
Agents for the developer Kirkland have addressed these concerns in Environmental Impact Assessments provided to council.
The development was supported by principal of nearby Limerick Educate Together Secondary School Eoin Shinners and Mr Golden.