Sinn Féin spokesperson on Housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD, has called on Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien to explain the discrepancy in new home completion figures between those published by the Central Statistics Office and those by Construction Information Services.

Data analysis produced by CIS suggests that the new home completion figure for 2022 was just 23,751 rather than the 29,851 reported by the Central Statistics Office.

Teachta Ó Broin said:

“New home completion figures have long been a source of political controversy. The last government was found to be publishing inaccurate figures up to 2018. 

“Responsibility for new home completion figures was then taken out of the Department of Housing’s hands and given to the Central Statistics Office. Since 2019, it has been assumed that the quarterly CSO home completion figures are accurate and free from political manipulation.

“This week, however, Construction Information Services have released independent analysis of building completion data indicating that the number of new homes delivered in 2022 is significantly lower than that claimed by the CSO and government.

“While the CSO has stated that 29,851 new homes were delivered last year, ahead of the government’s housing plan target of 25,000, CIS analysis suggests the number is much lower at 23,751, below the government’s target.

“Given the scale of the housing crisis, accurate and reliable data is of paramount importance. We cannot afford to have another protracted row over the accuracy of housing delivery data. 

“Today I have written to the Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien asking him to provide a detailed reply to the Oireachtas Housing Committee on the claim by CIS. 

“If there is a discrepancy between the CSO data and actual completions, the Minister needs to explain this and rectify the CSO data. 

“If the CSO data is correct, then Minister O’Brien must provide a clear and satisfactory analysis explaining why CIS are wrong. I look forward to Minister O’Brien’s response.”