CSO figures show that Waterford has had 518 new builds this year, with a sharp rise in the third quarter.
The regional breakdown of new builds is as follows: Waterford City East, running from the Newtown area to Dunmore East had 131, Waterford City South including Parnell Street, Lisduggan, Ballybeg had: 34, Waterford City West running from parts of Ferrybank to Tramore had 200, the Portlaw Kilmacthomas area had 96, Dungarvan had 47, while Lismore had 10.
Notably, Lismore, which has a population of 1,347 people is lagging behind the rest of the county with only 10 new builds in 2025.
The Munster Express spoke to Sinn Féin Councillor Donnchadh Mulcahy about the matter, who believes water facilities are to blame, saying that issues with Uisce Éireann are causing families to leave Waterford communities.
“The latest housing figures show that West Waterford is being left behind. Young families want to stay in their own communities, but the opportunities simply aren’t there,” said Cllr. Mulcahy.
“In some areas we have land zoned for housing, but Uisce Éireann doesn’t have the necessary infrastructure in place to allow those homes to be built. It’s a case of cart before the horse. Communities are being asked to wait while essential services lag years behind.
“If we are serious about balanced development, we need proper investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in rural towns so homes can actually be delivered where people want to live.”
As reported in recent weeks, Uisce Éireann is under increasing pressure due to ongoing wastewater problems in Waterford City.
Cllr. Mulcahy’s comments highlight the impact that Uisce Éireann’s issues are having on Waterford’s rural communities as they struggle with the national housing crisis.
At the launch of An Garrán housing estate in Tramore last Friday, a social housing development comprising of 50 A-rated new builds, The Munster Express asked Minster for Housing, James Browne, if Uisce Éireann was slowing down the delivery of housing in Waterford.
“We are asking them to really focus on those areas that can deliver the most amount of homes, and that’s why we’ve also established the Housing Activation Office,” Minister Browne replied.
“Yesterday we had our first ever meetings on the Housing Activation Office, we had the construction industry there, and we had specialists from all the utilities and I know the Housing Activation Office has been in contact with the local authority to identify the key problems here and how we can get those resolved as quickly as possible,” said Minister Browne.
When asked if the matter was set to improve, the Minister replied: “I absolutely believe so”.
Addressing the issue, Waterford’s Fine Gael Minister John Cummins said that Uisce Éireann must work with the private sector to ensure water infrastructure does not constrain the delivery of housing.
Minister Cummins, explained that approval by cabinet last week for changes to wastewater infrastructure will have major benefits for Waterford.
“While Uisce Éireann is a driving force in supporting the rollout of new housing, there are circumstances where the expansion of water infrastructure needs to be addressed by the private sector,” said Minister Cummins.
“Currently the private sector is developing water services network infrastructure to connect to the Uisce Éireann network and establish temporary wastewater treatment infrastructure in certain circumstances, but we need to expand the possible role of the private sector.
“Under these rules developers have to wait for Uisce Éireann to put wastewater infrastructure in place, which can seriously delay getting housing delivered in Waterford. Cabinet agreed that Uisce Éireann will have responsibility for securing compliance with wastewater discharge regulations and will take ownership of the infrastructure for its future operation and maintenance.
“Uisce Éireann will develop a partnership approach with private developers. It will sign-off on all designs, installation works, and connections prior to commissioning and transfer. This will have a huge impact on getting more homes built in Waterford and ensuring major improvements to our wastewater infrastructure,” concluded Minister Cummins.
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