Single Approval Process for Social Housing Capital Projects

This Government’s housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, provides clear targets for local authorities to scale-up social housing delivery, increasing from an average of 8,000 at present to an average of 12,000 per year; delivering 72,000 new social homes during the lifetime of the plan. This scale of delivery is aligned with the National Development Plan Review 2025, which projects significant population growth and is required to meet both existing and new demand for social housing.

Fulfilling these commitments will require a substantial increase in housing output of all types, and in particular the delivery of apartments at central and accessible urban locations. This Government, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is committed to creating the best possible conditions to support local authorities in the accelerated delivery of social housing, at scale and at pace.

On the 1 July 2025, Cabinet approved a single approval process for social housing projects up to the value of €200 million. This follows a commitment made in the Programme for Government 2025 – Securing Ireland’s Future, and subsequently confirmed in the Department’s new housing strategy, to seek efficiencies in the approval process for all standardised social housing projects.

The new single approval process, which will replace the current 4-Stage and Single Stage approval processes, is designed to align to particular requirements related to the delivery of social housing, providing a more seamless approval process, with a clear and intentional focus on embedding standardisation and value for money.

This streamlined approval process will remove the requirement for additional detailed submissions for review and approval throughout the project lifecycle; and lead to a more efficient and quicker Department sign off on project proposals.

The memorandum approved on the 1 July 2025 by Cabinet announced the mandating of the use of standard unit types and specifications, as per the Department of Housing’s Design Manual for Quality Housing (Design Manual) and the Employer’s Requirements for Detail Design of Quality Housing (Employer’s Requirements), for all new build social housing; affirming our commitment to value for money and a drive towards greater standardisation.

A central aim of standardising house and apartment types, and specifications for social housing, is to facilitate greater levels of cost control and greater cost certainty for the Exchequer. It will also yield benefits to the construction industry with efficiencies in tendering, supply, and programming given there will be greater certainty on the brief and works requirements from the outset; as well as facilitation of greater use of MMC in new build social housing projects in line with the Programme for Government ambition. An acceptable equivalent standardised design approach may also be considered.

This new process will cover all new build social housing projects funded via the Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) and the Approved Housing Body (AHB) Capital Assistance Scheme (CAS) up to the value of €200 million. Proposals with an estimated capital cost in excess of €200 million are considered Major Projects and must adhere to the process outlined in the Infrastructure Guidelines.

This improved approval process aims to ensure that local authorities are facilitated to propose and progress social housing projects in a timely manner, which will meet both new demand and address existing need, creating a sustainable future for social housing in Ireland.

In developing this new sector specific process, we have taken the opportunity to critically examine in full our processes and procedures for the review and approval of social housing projects that has been informed by detailed engagement with the local authority sector. We have sought to provide a greater level of clarity for local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs) on expectations with respect to the pre-construction process, ensuring a consistency of approach to standards expected.

This sector specific guidance for the single approval process is a procedural document, detailing the social housing sector specific process, supplemented by cost, project, risk reporting and business case and reporting templates.

This sector specific guidance for the single approval process is a procedural document detailing the social housing sector specific process, supplemented by cost, project, risk reporting and business case and reporting templates. This new process allows for an appropriate level of oversight by the Department, and by local authorities, in the evaluation, planning and management of social housing public investment projects. Proper governance and appraisal of capital expenditure is embedded in the process to ensure that public funds are used efficiently, transparently and in alignment with standards expected under the Infrastructure Guidelines, and national objectives.

The following supporting guidance documents will be available at this location shortly:

• Single Approval Process Map
• Single Approval Guidance Note
• Single Approval Business Case and Reporting Template
• Single Approval Risk Register Template
• Single Approval Budget Application/Notification Form
• Single Approval Cost & Carbon Reporting Template