Wexford Minister James Browne Celebrates Housing Spike & Promises Faster Builds

Minister for Housing James Browne has welcomed an increase in new home completions for the first quarter of 2025, with 5,938 new dwellings completed, a 2% rise compared to the same period in 2024.

He said the increase is positive, especially for the families who will benefit, but emphasised the need for faster and broader housing delivery. To address delays, he announced plans to: Set up a dedicated Housing Activation Office to tackle problem areas and unlock development sites. Replace An Bord Pleanála with An Coimisiún Pleanála, a restructured planning body with statutory deadlines to speed up decisions. Key figures from the CSO data: 50.9% of new homes were part of housing schemes, 30% were apartments, and 19.1% were single homes. Apartment completions rose by 13.4% year-on-year. Six of Ireland’s eight regions saw an increase in completions, including a 5.8% rise in the West. There was also a 2.3% quarterly increase from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025. Minister Browne stressed the importance of scaling up delivery to meet Ireland’s housing needs faster.

More from Wexford News

  • Get Involved in Team Hope’s Christmas Shoebox Appeal

    Schools across Wexford are being called upon to support children living in poverty around the world by participating in Ireland's most loved Christmas appeal – the Team Hope Christmas Shoebox Appeal. As the charity celebrates its 15th year of spreading festive joy, Team Hope is inviting schools, employers, individuals and community organizations across Wexford to take part by registering online at teamhope.ie.

  • Wexford Volunteers Remove 4.1 Tonnes of Marine Litter During Big Beach Clean 2025

    In a monumental effort to protect Ireland’s marine environment, 695 volunteers across Wexford helped remove an estimated 4.1 tonnes of marine litter during the Big Beach Clean 2025. Part of An Taisce’s Clean Coasts Programme, this national event engaged almost 11,000 volunteers who cleaned up 520 locations nationwide, collecting over 60 tonnes of litter—the equivalent weight of around 9 elephants!

  • Wallace Criticizes Western Policies

    Former MEP Mick Wallace has passionately critiqued the role of big money in U.S. politics, European complicity in Gaza and the destructive impact of conflicts like the war in Ukraine.

  • Low Awareness of RSV Risks Among Older Adults in Wexford

    A recent study has revealed that awareness of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is alarmingly low among older adults and their carers in Wexford and across Ireland. Despite RSV being a significant cause of hospitalisations, particularly for those aged 65 and over, only 18% of people report knowing much about the virus. The study, commissioned by Pfizer and conducted by Ipsos B&A, shows that 41% of respondents have never heard of RSV or only recognize the name.