Louth County Council surpassed social housing delivery target for 2022–2024

Louth County Council has welcomed the Government’s publication of performance data highlighting how local authorities are progressing in the delivery of social housing under the Housing for All Programme.

The figures, released by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), provide a detailed breakdown of new build social housing delivery at local level from 2022 to 2024 and includes each local authority’s total new-build delivery against overall social housing new-build targets. 

Louth County Council surpassed its social housing delivery target for 2022–2024, completing 1,030 new homes, which was 6% above the assigned target of 976 units. This strong performance placed Louth eighth among the 31 local authorities nationwide.

This figure includes homes provided through direct builds by Louth County Council, Part V acquisitions, turnkey developments and through partnership arrangements through Approved Housing Bodies (AHB).

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Direct-build delivery fell short nationally, with only 18% of the national target met. Louth County Council delivered 37 direct-build units - 4% of the council’s overall target - at four key locations across the county: Cox’s Demesne Phase 2B (Dundalk); Doire Beag (Collon); School Lane (Dunleer) and Gort Uaine (Clogherhead). 

While these figures reflect a snapshot of social delivery across the sector, they do not provide details of the social housing pipeline in County Louth for the remainder of the current phase of the Housing For All Programme, which runs until the end of 2026, and they do not include recent completions, such as the 11-unit scheme at Muirhevnamór (Dundalk), and other developments finalised in Q1 and Q2. 

Looking ahead, Louth County Council is projected to exceed its Housing for All target of 1,323 units by 48%, delivering a total of 1,968 homes by the end of 2026.

Currently, there are eight direct-build construction social housing projects underway across the county - including four Accelerated Delivery Programmes (ADP) in Louth Village, Dunleer, Ballymakenny and Greenhills, Drogheda - comprising 440 units, which are scheduled to be delivered over the next 18 months. 

Some of these schemes, such as the 72-unit development at Boice Court, Drogheda, will be completed at the end of summer 2025, and over 50 units in Fulacht Fia, Mount Avenue, Dundalk, are expected to be delivered later this year, with the balance being delivered in 2026. 

In addition, the council’s housing team is actively engaging with all private housing developers to acquire Part V and turnkey units and continues to collaborate with Approved Housing Bodies to expand social, affordable, and cost rental housing options.

Cllr Seán Kelly, Cathaoirleach of Louth County Council, said: “These figures reflect the real and meaningful progress being made by Louth County Council in delivering homes for the people of the county. Surpassing our targets for 2022–2024 is a testament to the hard work of our housing team and partners.

"As Cathaoirleach, I’m proud of the work being done and confident that we will continue to build on this momentum to ensure that families and citizens across Louth have access to a range of quality housing options.”

“We remain committed to delivering high-quality, sustainable housing solutions for families and individuals in our communities,” said David Conway, Chief Executive of Louth County Council.

“While most local authorities would acknowledge that they would like to deliver more direct builds, we are delighted with the progress we are making and are projected to exceed our overall target for social homes by the end of the current phase of the Housing for All programme in 2026.”