Ireland's statutory local government watchdog has warned that the national target to retrofit 36,500 social housing units by 2030 is unlikely to be achieved at the current rate of delivery.

According to the Local Authority Performance Indicator Report for 2025, published on Thursday by the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC), local authorities retrofitted 2,671 homes during 2025. This represents a minor increase of 37 upgraded properties compared to the previous year.

The report highlighted significant regional variation in delivery across the country. Dublin City Council completed the highest number of retrofits with 327 homes, followed by Cork County Council with 208 and Donegal County Council with 200. The lowest numbers were recorded in Mayo (11), Westmeath (14), and Leitrim (16).

In addition to retrofitting progress, the report noted that local authorities owned a total of 158,773 social housing units by the end of 2025. Councils added 4,324 units to their stock during the year, which marked an 18.8% decrease in additions compared to 2024.

Despite the slower pace of retrofits and additions, NOAC reported positive movement on vacant local authority properties. Vacant units decreased by 385 to 3,866 by the end of 2025, bringing the overall vacancy rate down to 2.44%—the lowest level recorded since 2015.