At least half of all new house builds need to be in the Greater Dublin Area for “decades to come”, Dublin Chamber has said.
Dublin Chamber is Ireland’s largest chamber of commerce with over 1000 member companies, and is the most representative business group in the Greater Dublin Area.
The group said it is “concerned that the supply of new homes in Dublin and its wider commuter base has consistently failed to meet demand for the past two decades”. It blamed a “fractious” planning system, long delays in urban brownfield redevelopment, and the dezoning of land for driving up prices for both buyers and renters across the Greater Dublin Area.
“In order to meet this pent-up demand and the needs of a rapidly rising population in the region we believe that a minimum of half of all new housing construction for decades to come needs to be in the Greater Dublin Area,” said director of public and international affairs Aebhric McGibney.
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“With the range of forecasts that have been made regarding future housing needs, we estimate that this equates to about 30,000 units per year. In 2023 18,306 units were commenced in the Greater Dublin Area. This is far short of the demand that is needed.”
He said the group welcomed the reform of the planning system recently adopted by Government and the moves to invest more in water, waste water, public transport and grid capacity that would allow more housing to be built.
However, he said the National Planning Framework, which underpins investment decisions for the National Development Plan, “must be revisited”.
“It has missed the mark and seeks to prevent people who wish to work and live in Dublin from doing so,” he said. “There are great possibilities for growth under current Government plans from opportunities in expansion of public transport to more effective delivery of infrastructure.
“Alongside these opportunities are challenges: complacency, a slow planning process, long lead in times and diverting housing investment away from where people actually want to live. Not meeting the demand for housing in Dublin leaves Ireland at risk from attracting continued international investment and endangers future growth in the capital.”
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