Minister Browne announces almost €700 million in additional funding to support housing delivery
- Published on: 29 July 2025
- Last updated on: 29 July 2025
Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne today announced that the government has approved an additional €696 million capital funding in 2025 to fund a range of housing programmes, reflecting the strong focus on supporting the development of new homes, bringing vacant homes back into use, tackling homelessness and continuing to support homeowners under the Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme.
Over 4,600 new social and affordable homes will be delivered with this funding of which over 3,700 will be new build. This brings total additional capital allocated to the department to in excess of €1.4 billion so far this year.
The funding will be directed toward key initiatives including:
- further new build social and affordable housing delivery in 2025
- continue to build the pipeline of projects for delivery in the period 2026-2028
- drawdown of grants under the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant Scheme, bringing vacant units back in to residential use
- drawdown of grants by homeowners under the Enhanced Defective Concrete Block Remediation Scheme
- further support for second hand social housing acquisitions by local authorities and specifically Approved Housing Bodies to prevent vulnerable households falling into homelessness; and
- development contribution waivers to incentivise the activation of increased housing supply
Welcoming the new funding, Minister Browne stated:
"This additional €696 million funding reflects our determination to tackle the housing crisis head-on. It will empower local authorities and housing bodies to accelerate the delivery of new homes, expand access to affordable and social housing, address homelessness, bring vacant and derelict properties back into use, support homeowners affected by defective concrete blocks, and drive new construction in the private sector.
“I have always said that tackling our housing challenges effectively requires a broad, integrated approach rather than relying on any one solution. This is why this funding has been allocated across a range of targeted schemes and initiatives, each designed to address specific aspects of the housing system and contribute to meaningful, long-term progress."
Full details of the breakdown and allocation of funding is due to be published next week.