THE STARK COMPARISON between future housing needs in the Greater Dublin Area and elsewhere has been brought into focus by the ESRI.

Research from the think-tank shows that 86% of the additional housing needed over the next ten years will be in Dublin, Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

The institutes points out the projected lack of housing in the Dublin commuter belt is very different to the oversupply that exists elsewhere.

Analysis of population trends shows that 180,000 additional housing units will be required between 2011 and 2021. The ESRI points out that the large number of existing vacant dwellings will reduce this requirement, by half, to 90,000 units.

The shortfall is not evenly distributed though according to research author Dr Edgar Morgenroth:

Of the 90,000 additional housing units required between 2011 and 2021, over 60% (54,000 units) are needed in Dublin and a further 26% are needed in counties Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. Thus the requirement for additional housing units is projected to be highly concentrated in the Greater Dublin area

Last month in the Dáil, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan said that he felt that the capacity of land zoned for housing in the country is more than enough to meet the expected demand for new housing.

He did not provide a geographical breakdown of these areas however.

Morgenroth states that the current level of housing completions “will result in significant housing shortages in the Greater Dublin Area if the rate of housing completions does not increase rapidly”.

Originally published 6:30am. 

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