Government should provide support as policy shift puts 'pressure' on local councils, Leitrim Cllr
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The government changed its policy on turnkey purchases, which puts “pressure “ on local councils
Government needs to set out what its new social housing policy announcement will mean for local authorities and local industry, says Leitrim Padraig Fallon.
The Sinn Féin councillor was reacting to the announcement by the government this week that they would be phasing out the purchase of finished homes, “a much greater emphasis on own-build homes by local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) going forward.
The move would see a policy focus move away from local authorities buying houses from developers after completion to meet social housing numbers, but instead putting more focus on councils building them for themselves.
“The government needs to set out how their new policy will impact private builders and developers who require a percentage of their development to be county,” said the councillor.
The pace change from the government is not instant, but local authorities and AHBs will have to submit Turnkey Acquisition proposals up to 31 December 2027, after which no further applications for funding for such projects will be accepted.
The councillor says that there is a need for county councils to deliver more but that there needs to be greater support given for them to do so as many councils simply don't have the greenfield sites and other resources to do so.
“I heard the Minister on national media, talking now about putting pressure on local authorities to build more homes, to build them themselves,” said Fallon.
“It's my view that they don't have the resources required to deliver this on the road.”
According to government figures released this month, Leitrim County Council has increased their commencements of social housing builds by 15 % in the first three quarters of 2026 to 54.
The councillor has previously called for more resources to be given to counties, like Leitrim, that have met their targets for social housing builds.
“I'm hesitant to say that any county is doing well with regard to social housing, but what I can say about Leitrim, and what I see, is that the resources given to them have been used.”
Nationally, 3,682 commencement notices for new homes were lodged in September 2026, while 32,581 commencement notices were lodged between October 2025 and September 2026.