A survey by law firm Mason Hayes & Curran (MHC) has found that those working in the property sector see Ireland’s planning processes as the biggest obstacle to meeting the country’s housing needs.

The survey of more than 300 people was carried out at the firm’s Future of Property Conference, which took place earlier this week.

Planning issues were seen as the biggest hurdle to increasing housing supply by 43% of respondents, while 95% believed that planning regulations needed to change.

Just over 40% wanted fewer judicial reviews of planning decisions, while almost 30% said that there should be more resources for local authorities and An Bord Pleanála.

Change of government

Other significant hurdles to supply cited by respondents included inflation (24%) and labour shortages (21%).

Almost 60% of those surveyed thought that housing supply would not improve in Dublin for four years or longer, with only 2% expecting an improvement in the next 12 months.

Most professionals (81%) did not believe that a change of government would bring about a meaningful improvement in the supply of housing in the short term.

Diverse

Among the speakers at the conference were Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien and economist Ronan Lyons, who said the country’s housing need over the coming decades was likely to be “far more diverse” in the mix of housing types needed than Ireland was used to building.

“From pre-family housing – including student housing and co-living – to forms of housing like independent living and assisted-living complexes, Ireland will need to not only scale up its build rate, but also diversify the types of housing,” said Lyons.