The opportunities for new property developments are "very limited" because of outdated planning policies, the chairman of Superquinn has told a conference.
Mr Vincent O'Doherty said there was great uncertainty among retailers and property investors about new developments being able to meet demand.
"The need is for more user-friendly policies to expand retail provision to meet consumer demand in locations that better suit car use and lessen town centre congestion," he told the ICC Bank "Boom or Bust" property conference.
Speaking on the subject of office property, Mr Richard Barrett, director of Treasury Holdings, said the present demand for residential housing was causing rents on office property to rise.
He expected these to increase quite strongly over the medium term at least.
Mr Barrett said the "restrictive aspects" of the zoning criteria used in the Dublin city development plan was resulting in a lack of space for office developments.
He added that the "absurdly theoretical policies" of the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO) in relation to city centre car parking had forced office demand out of the traditional areas to "more benign car parking environments".
"Parking restrictions together with the opening of the orbital motorway have opened up the reality of office development in areas like Dundrum, Citywest, Ballyfermot, Finglas and South Dublin," he said.
"This is a growing trend that will stay with us and suits today's users in terms of location, accessibility, rent and parking".
Mr Bill Tuite, from Jones Lang Wootton chartered surveyors, said the industrial market had been slow to respond to the growing strength of the property market.
However, he said current supply was more than adequate to meet the level of demand.
At a separate conference held in Dublin by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), on the theme of Growth, Investment and Ireland in the New Europe, there were calls for the Government to produce a national investment plan.
Mr Liam Kelleher, CIF director, said a plan to prioritise infrastructural investment requirements for the next 10 years was needed.
The call for a plan follows the CIF's recent criticism of the Government's decision to cap public investment growth at an average of 5 per cent.
This should not be done during a period when overall growth continues to be significantly higher, the CIF said.
In his speech, the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, said direct Government spending was a significant element in the growth of the construction industry.
