Updated / Thursday, 9 Jul 2026 11:53
Home completions here will hit 40,000 this year, according to the latest forecasts from EY Ireland for EUROCONSTRUCT.
EUROCONSTRUCT is an independent construction market forecasting network active in 19 European countries.
EY said the 40,000 figure compares to 36,284 completions last year – representing a 20.4% increase on 2024 and the highest annual output recorded since 2011.
It predicts that figure will rise to 43,000 in 2027, and 47,000 in 2028, adding that Ireland is set for some of the strongest growth in construction in Europe.
Poland, the UK and Portugal are also forecast for strong growth up to 2028.
But despite the increased onput on last year, the 40,000 figure would still leave the pace of completions well short of the Government’s housing targets.
Earlier this week stockbroking firm Davy revised downwards its forecast for housing completions for this year and said the shortfall in new builds will persist until 2035.
In its latest economic commentary, it said it expects 44,000 homes will be completed this year down from its previous estimate of 50,000.
In its report today, EY said its stronger outlook for the housing sector reflects a number of factors, including the scale of public capital investment allocated to housing, the establishment and expected progress to be made by the Housing Activation Office over 2025 and early 2026, and the significant number of commencement notices recorded in 2024, when more than 69,000 units were commenced.
However, it said that while completions are moving in the right direction, delivery remains dependent on continuing to convert planning permissions and commencements into sustained construction activity completed homes, with ongoing challenges around infrastructure provision and viability continuing to impact progress.
Meanwhile, EY said the outlook for non-residential construction remains mixed.
New non-residential output is estimated to have increased by 6.8% in 2025, but growth is expected to slow to 0.7% in 2026, 3.8% in 2027 and 3.7% in 2028, reflecting continued softness in office development, partially offset by more stable activity across other non-residential segment.
Other segments, including education, health, industry and storage, are expected to record more moderate growth over the medium term, it added.
Simon MacAllister, EY Partner and Co-Head of Geopolitical Strategy in Ireland and the Irish member of the EUROCONSTRUCT network, said the latest forecasts point to continued strong growth in Irish construction activity, building on a very strong 2025 outturn.
“This is a very positive trajectory, but the key challenge remains sustained delivery,” he stated.
“The sector must continue to convert permissions and commencements into completed homes, and that will depend heavily on the timely delivery of enabling infrastructure, particularly water, energy and transport,” he said.
“Encouragingly there has been significant policy and legislative changes in recent times to support this, as well as record investment committed, both directly to housing and the key building blocks of enabling infrastructure, including water, sewerage and energy,” he said.
“While Ireland’s construction market is performing strongly relative to many European peers, the sustainability of this growth will depend on maintaining momentum across planning reform, infrastructure activation, apartment viability and construction capacity, as well as managing any construction inflation which may emerge as a result from the conflict in the Middle East,” he added.
