JUST under 130 homes were delivered in Limerick last year with support of loans to approved housing bodies from the Housing Finance Agency (HFA).
That’s according to the HFA’s 2024 Annual Report, which already shows a “significant increase in lending for social and affordable housing” on last year for the first half of 2025.
According to the agency’s report, €709million in new loans have been advanced in the first half of this year, including €682m to approved housing bodies – a 40 per cent year-on-year increase – to enable the delivery of almost 2,000 new homes nationwide.
Loan approvals from the agency in the first half of this year reached €767m, which is says will pave the way for 1,807 new social homes and 962 cost rental homes across the country in 2025 and beyond.
According to the HFA’s 2025 Annual Report, its loan financing led to the delivery of 129 homes in Limerick in 2024, along with 146 in neighbouring Clare, 38 in Kerry, 244 in Galway, 456 in Cork, and 2,223 in Galway.
The housing deliveries were spread across local authorities, approved housing bodies, and higher education institutions.
Across last year, the HFA approved €2.1billion in new financing for approved housing bodies, which it says supports a pipeline of 7,936 social and affordable homes – an increase, the report says, of 29 per cent, on 2023 figures.
“This funding, alongside support from the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, will facilitate the delivery of 5,679 new social homes and 2,257 cost rental homes across 22 counties,” the HFA said.
Housing Minister James Browne welcomed the figures in the HFA’s annual report, saying the agency plays a “crucial role” in the government’s housing targets.
“However, if we look beyond the financial metrics, we see that there are thousands of people, who, because of the financing made available by the HFA, will have a safe and secure roof over their heads, living in supportive mixed-tenure communities or modern student accommodation,” Minister Browne said.
HFA chief executive director Deirdre Collier said that, last year, “record financing” from the agency helped “more than 12,000 people to access social and affordable housing”.
“Already in 2025, we’ve seen a 40 per cent increase in loan advances to AHBs (approved housing bodies) in the first half of the year, underscoring continued demand and confidence in our role as a finance partner.”
