Only 2,500 of the 13,400 social homes needed to help ease the housing and homelessness crisis have been built.
And the Irish Independent reports that none of these have been built in Laois.
Overall, 31 local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs) have been tasked with building 13,400 social homes across all counties.
To date, just 2,512 are complete and another 3,650 are under construction, which is a fall of 10 compared with three months previously.
The remainder are either awaiting final approval, being designed, tendered or taken through the planning process.
The department said the latest update on the social housing programme showed “significant increased activity”, but admitted delays were occurring.
An analysis of official returns also shows some units received the first of four required approvals from the Department of Housing as far back as 2013, but have yet to progress to the planning or construction stage.
The figures come after it emerged buyers are being forced to queue for up to a week to purchase a new property.
Back in February, Laois County Council said they expect to meet the target set by the Government which was to provide 123 new homes in 2018, along with the 2021 target of 684 new houses.
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