Commencement data for December 2025 shows significant jump in new home starts
- Foilsithe: 15 Eanáir 2026
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 15 Eanáir 2026
Over 176,000 new homes commenced in last five years
New data shows Modern Methods of Construction to be used in seven out of ten new homes in scheme developments and over 40% of apartments - significantly speeding up build times
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage today published the commencement data for December 2025, indicating a sharp increase in new home starts with 3,065 units commenced – double the amount in the previous month (1,533 units in November). The December result is by far the highest number of new starts in 2025 (the second highest month was 1,656 units in September).
The strong outturn at the end of the year mirrors data from the AIB’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the Irish construction sector earlier this week, which showed that new orders returned to growth in December due to an increase in client demand and that staffing levels and purchasing activity in December were bolstered by rising customer enquiries, new orders and firms’ optimistic outlook for 2026.
The total amount of units commenced in 2025 was 16,412 units. This was lower than the total for 2024 where government initiatives such as the development levy waiver and the Úisce Éireann rebate had a positive impact, fast tracking projects towards commencement.
To put things in a clearer perspective, across 2024 and 2025 combined, a total of 85,723 units were commenced. This represents an increase of 43% compared with the combined total for the previous two year period, 2022 and 2023 (59,758 units).
Over the last five years (2021–2025), there have been 176,206 units commenced in total.
Reflecting on the December 2025 data, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD said:
“This strong jump in the delivery of new home starts at the end of 2025 is very encouraging and signals the uptick in confidence in the construction sector. We need to ensure we deliver on our ambitions of 300,000 new homes by 2030.
“This growing confidence across construction is built on decisive policy interventions we have taken since I became Minister for Housing last year. I have been absolutely relentless in pursuing delivery of homes at pace and at scale across the country both in activating policy change as well as a laser focus on planning and local authority engagement.
“The urgent work ongoing is not just about public delivery of social and affordable - it is about seeing a serious increase in what is private home building.
“We now have a new Housing Action Plan which not only delivers record government investment but also commits to creating the best possible environment for housing delivery, not least an increased emphasis on providing the necessary infrastructure. As we continue to implement this plan, I would expect to see commencements rise this year – and year on year.”
Of the 3,065 units commenced in December, 979 (32%) are scheme dwellings, 1,820 (59%) are apartments and 266 (9%) are for one-off units. Access the full Commencement data here.
Modern Methods of Construction
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage today announced that from now on the monthly commencement data would also show how many commencements intend to use modern methods of construction (MMC). The department also published newly collected data on the use of MMC in housing during the second half of 2025.
The data shows that from July-December 2025, MMC is intended to be used in 69% of homes in scheme developments, with 61% of these dwellings using timber frame construction. The data also showed that 44% of new apartments intend to be constructed using MMC.
MMC is the term used to describe a range of innovative manufacturing and construction alternatives to traditional building methods. MMC techniques can speed up the delivery of construction projects up to 40%.
The Government’s new Housing Action Plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025–2030, sets out a series of measures to accelerate the adoption of Modern Methods of Construction. The plan commits to implementing initiatives to promote the use of MMC and aims to expand the use of 3D volumetric systems by funding and supporting pathfinder projects to help build market demand for these innovative approaches. Two such projects are the Limerick (SMART Homes) and Wexford (3D volumetric units) pilot projects which are actively progressing.
Welcoming this positive trend, Minister Browne, said:
“We are tackling a nationwide housing crisis. It is important that we scale up the use of Modern Methods of Construction to help us achieve our housing targets, as laid out in our new Housing Action Plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities’. These innovative new methods help deliver houses much faster and offer greater cost certainty while at the same time reducing building emissions.
“I am particularly encouraged by the high usage of timber frame construction. Along with the increased speed and efficiency of using MMC, the use of timber offers significant benefits in terms of sustainability.
“By setting clear targets for the use of MMC in our social and affordable housing programmes, we are helping to build the capacity and the skill sets across the construction sector to deliver more homes using these faster and more efficient methods. In the Local Authority Accelerated Delivery Programme, all housing delivered is from MMC – mainly timber frame. At least 1,500 MMC dwellings across 13 local authorities will be delivered through this programme.”
The Minister also acknowledged the contribution of the Industry Capability Working Group who co-ordinated such efforts for the delivery of this reporting mechanism.
ENDS
Notes for Editors on MMC:
- MMC has brought tangible benefits to public and private sector housing delivery. Reductions in delivery timeframes of up to 40%, greater cost certainty and reduced changes during construction have offered both cost and time savings.
- The data is based on commencement notice data collected from the Building Control Management System which is entered for each new dwelling commenced.
- A steering group consisting of the DHLGH, National Building Control & Marketing Surveillance Office (NBCMSO), Department of Taoiseach (DOT), Central Statistics Office (CSO) co-ordinated the collection and analysis of the data
- The newly developed MMC infographic provides a detailed overview of the adoption of MMC in housing projects using commencement data from the Building Control Management System (BCMS). The infographic displays key metrics of MMC units commenced with a breakdown by housing types such as apartments and scheme houses
- In December 2022, funding of €94m was provided to local authorities to address legacy land debts. The provision of this funding was linked to the immediate development of a housing proposal and a commitment to use Modern Methods of Construction. The Accelerated Social Housing Delivery Programme, comprises 36 sites and will deliver over 1,500 new social homes across 13 local authorities.
- Download the Government Introductory Guide to MMC.
An infographic has been created by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to explain the data tracking MMC and is available to view or download here.