Mayor announces plan to commission independent review of housing shortfalls in Limerick

MAYOR of Limerick, John Moran has announced his intention to commission an independent evaluation into why housing in Limerick has been so far below the county's needs.

Mayor Moran today welcomed councillors’ focus on Limerick’s historic housing under-delivery of housing.

Since the Development Plan in 2022 a total of 2,876 homes were completed which is only 34% of the target of 8,443.

He confirmed that he will be asking for cross-party collaboration with the independent evaluation he intends to commission and fund from his Mayoral Fund on why housing delivery has been so far below Limerick’s needs and to advise what can be done to speed up delivery of all forms of tenure.

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“I’ve spent over a year in my role working to understand the Limerick specific complex housing issues and pushing forward some new innovations. I have learned a lot. That has helped frame my decisions up to now," said the Mayor.

"I realise some think that what I have been pushing forward is radical in recent historic terms. But we need radical. We now have a new Director of Service for Housing so the time is ripe for a stock-take. I would now like to see independent review of historic decisions, my new courses of action and any other alternative paths to be taken.”

Mayor Moran continued: “We cannot build a bright future for Limerick by ignoring or misunderstanding the reasons for the failures of the past – whether local or national causes."

"In the years before my election and since, Limerick has consistently delivered far below what was needed and far below comparable local authorities. As I stated in the recent report I published:

“Overall, the total completions across the City and County during the first three years of the [Development] Plan are less than one year’s housing target. That legacy is why we now face such severe pressure.”

The Mayor noted that Limerick was left well short of a robust pipeline of large-scale planning permissions going into 2025—despite the availability of significant State-owned land. This absence of forward planning is a major structural reason for today’s crisis.

Setting out the scale of the challenge, Mayor Moran added:

"Limerick delivers at most 800–1,000 new homes a year. We need at least 2,599 annually just to meet our existing stated targets."

"And in truth, to address pent‑up demand, we need closer to 4,000 homes each year. To catch up, we must now increase delivery by 300%, totlaling 15,000 homes above current delivery levels over five years. That task is enormous and will require everyone working together."

The Mayor emphasised the need to avoid the trap of any evaluation becoming a reason for further delay:

“This is about accountability, learning, and ensuring we keep focus on the important issues, do not make the same mistakes as before and use our scarce resources wisely. But we cannot pause urgent work while the review proceeds. Any supply that can be accelerated must be accelerated now while we try and manage the hardships caused to households by the current crisis.”

He confirmed that he has already encouraged officials to shift limited human resources away from many small, low-impact schemes—the dominant approach before 2025—and towards a smaller number of major strategic sites such as Colbert, Toppins Field, Mungret, SMART Homes, Moyross and the Gasworks.

Mayor Moran also highlighted the need for improved governance and dedicated delivery structures, reiterating his call during his recent Budget Speech for a LCCC Housing Activation Unit and welcoming recent commitments from the Land Development Agency and Irish Rail to co-locate officials in an office with Limerick City and County Council officials to form a unified team with a single purpose.

“I want us all to treat the failures of the past and the challenges we face as a reason for us all to act decisively,” he said. “My focus is on ensuring Limerick finally has the financial resources, the human capacity and the delivery mechanisms to build the homes our people urgently need.”

The Mayor concluded: "We have made meaningful progress in recent months readying some of our existing larger sites and acquiring some new lands. We know that solving the supply deficiency will require heavy lifting by both the private and the public sector. A key focus over the next few months must be on establishing an environment which encourages more private sector investment as well as raising the level of public sector delivery.”

The Mayor confirmed that he will in the next few days issue at www.johnmoran.ie a further analytical blog—Facing up to Reality in Housing—to outline further data, context and next steps.