An Open Letter from HAI to the Sector
August 5, 2026
Hardware Association Ireland warns Ireland is effectively “missing a county” of housing. Ireland must deliver 58,000 homes a year to tackle housing crisis
Hardware Association Ireland (HAI) has called on Government today, Wednesday 9th September, to take urgent action to increase housing supply, unlock vacant properties, support first-time buyers and address critical skills shortages across the construction sector as part of its Pre-Budget Submission.
Click here to read the document in full.
HAI estimates Ireland is currently short at least 120,000 homes, equivalent to the entire housing stock of Galway City and County. It says the country must urgently deliver at least 58,000 homes annually over the next six years, requiring 348,000 additional homes between 2026 and 2031.
A central focus of the submission is the redevelopment of vacant space above shops. HAI estimates that up to 80% of upper floors above commercial premises are vacant, compared with typical commercial vacancy rates of around 5% across mainland Europe.
HAI is calling for investors operating through limited companies to be included in the Above the Shop grant, alongside a three-year Capital Gains Tax exemption for qualifying properties and the removal of the requirement for ground floors to remain in commercial use. It is also seeking a two-year stamp duty waiver on empty homes and an additional €20,000 grant for each additional residential unit created within a vacant property.
The Association is also calling for measures to support first-time buyers, including a 0% VAT rate on newly built homes purchased as a principal residence, an extension of the Help-to-Buy Scheme for at least three years with the qualifying property value increased to €650,000, and zero stamp duty on second-hand homes valued at up to €500,000.
For one off houses, a part of the market that could deliver an extra 5,000 homes per year, HAI recommends that for those who can sink their own well, provide their own wastewater treatment and have road access planning permission should be fast tracked.
HAI is further seeking greater planning resources, a one-stop-shop regulatory approval process, the nationwide expansion of the Living City Initiative and targeted tax measures to encourage adaptive reuse and retrofitting.
Almost 19,000 applications already made for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant by the end of June 2026, HAI says Government must build on this momentum and make better use of Ireland’s existing housing stock.
HAI President Tara Brennan said: “Ireland’s housing crisis is now its most serious infrastructural and social challenge. Government must respond with the urgency and ambition that the scale of this crisis demands. There are practical measures available to increase supply, unlock vacant properties and support people seeking to buy their own home.”
The submission also highlights the workforce challenge facing the construction sector, with estimates suggesting up to 120,000 additional workers could be required by 2030. HAI is calling for a national campaign promoting apprenticeships and careers in the trades, greater support for employers recruiting apprentices and tax incentives for investment in workforce training.
Ms Brennan added: “Housing targets are meaningless unless Ireland has the people, materials and viable businesses required to deliver them. Our country does not lack ideas or resources. What it lacks is speed, coordination and sustained delivery. Ireland must build, and it must build now.”
ENDS
Editors Notes:
Martin Markey, Hardware Association Ireland Chief Executive Officer, is available for interview and comment.
For more information please contact:
Paul Allen Luke Murphy
Paul Allen & Associates Paul Allen & Associates
18 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2 18 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2
01 676 9575 / 087 257 5700 01 676 9575 / 083 023 8804
