Fears are growing across Government and the construction industry that new builds in housing will plummet to just 25,000 this year, despite the appointment of a new 'maverick' housing tsar to speed up housing delivery, writes John Drennan.

The figure, based on current home completions data and significant ongoing infrastructure problems, is a massive 16,000 short of the Government's official target for this year.

And it is just half of the average annual proportion of the 300,000 new homes the Coalition has promised to deliver between now and 2030.

On Friday, it was announced that Nama boss Brendan McDonagh has been chosen as the 'fixer-in-chief' to lead Housing Minister James Browne's new Strategic Housing Activation Office (SHAO).

Mr McDonagh - who was paid €430,000 a year as head of the State's 'bad bank' - faces an uphill battle as new home builds continue to fall far short of targets.

Recently released figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that 5,938 new homes were completed in the first three months of this year, a small 2% rise on the same three-month period last year.

Last week, it was revealed how latest housing data sent shockwaves through the highest levels of Government after it emerged commencement notices for just 723 homes were lodged last month - less than a sixth of the number in the same period last year.

There are now fears the Government will fall significantly short of the 32,525 new homes built last year, which itself was 10,000 - or 25% - less than the promised number for 2024.

In an indication of rising pessimism in Government, one senior source said: “Our private indications are that the final figure as of now will be in the low twenties [thousands], possibly 25,000, possibly lower.”

This unease was echoed by a minister who said: “All of the fundamentals are wrong, and they are not changing.

“Everything. Investment, water accessibility, infrastructure, no ESB connections, no gas, no financing, planning commencements - each fundamental is trending downwards.”

In an interview with the Irish Mail on Sunday last weekend, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said his new 'Accelerated Infrastructure Taskforce' - comprising experts drawn from agencies such as Uisce Éireann, the ESB and Transport Infrastructure Ireland - will help speed up the delivery of new homes and major State capital projects.

However, the new taskforce - and the appointment of Mr McDonagh as 'housing tsar' - has not allayed unease over the Government's failure to get to grips with the unprecedented housing shortage.

The career civil servant - who is expected to earn a package worth just under €500,000 in salary and benefits - has been the chief executive of Nama, which was set up to deal with the non-performing loans of property developers after the banking and property collapse, since 2009.

Before that, he was the director of finance, technology and risk at the National Treasury Management Agency.

Mr McDonagh has been described as a “maverick enforcer” tasked with “kicking open doors” to activate housing delivery.

Behind the scenes, however, his appointment has been greeted with less enthusiasm in some quarters.

One minister asked: “How on earth can anyone present McDonagh as an enforcer? He has been at the heart of the establishment for decades.”

In a reference to the TV political satire Yes Minister, they added: “It is like putting a Sir Humphrey in charge of all the Sir Humphreys.”

Another minister noted: “If you were seeking a maverick enforcer with a boots-on-the-ground knowledge of sites, he would be the last figure you would pick.”

But other Government sources defended the appointment.

“He is the insider who possesses the knowledge to unlock all of the interdepartmental blockages,” said one.

Mr McDonagh's appointment came just days after more gloomy data confirmed the Government also significantly missed its social housing targets by more than 1,400.

A total of 10,595 social homes were added last year, which included 7,871 new-builds, 1,501 acquisitions and another 1,223 units through leasing programmes.

On Friday, the Government announced record homeless figures of 15,418, with 4,675 children in emergency accommodation.

Although he has been in office for only three months, confidence in Mr Browne's ability to turn around the Government's record on housing is deteriorating.

Several Government and industry sources expressed unease about the minister's performance so far.

One minister said: “He essentially has disappeared since taking the job. He seems to have withdrawn into himself.”

Another source said: “We don't know what's wrong with James. He seems overwhelmed. He has turned in on himself. At least with [former housing minister] Darragh O'Brien, there was a sense of action, maybe not direction but action.”

One senior industry figure said: “There has been a complete retrenchment in spending and funding. We keep on hearing there is this open chequebook, and we keep on not seeing it.”

Another source noted: “The disconnect between builders and the Department of Housing is existential. There is no sense of focus and direction. No contracts are being signed; all we hear from the ESB, Irish Water and Bord Gáis is ‘No’.

“The Government is seen as being inert and disinterested. The response to a private-sector crisis - to appoint a full-blown civil servant - will not engender confidence. There is a sense that there is a vacuum, that we are operating at best in an architecture of containment.”