Chartered surveyors in Ireland have said coronavirus, Brexit and the makeup of the new government will have huge impacts on the commercial property market this year.

The projections come as the issues of housing and homelessness continue to be hotly debated topics in the election campaign.

Here is a selection of people who have begun new roles with companies in Ireland.

The head of the Land Development Agency has hit out at local authorities for failing to use available funds to tackle the housing crisis.

It’s just over two years since 72 people died in a fire in London’s Grenfell Tower. Had that building been properly fireproofed most of those, if not all, lives might have been saved.

Residential property prices are continuing to rise nationally but there has been a significant slowdown in the rate of increase in the last 12 months.

Here is a selection of people who have moved into interesting new roles.

A skills shortage in all areas of construction has worsened in recent months, with a lack of carpenters and plumbers leading to a squeeze on project delivery, a new report has found.

The Irish recruitment scene is enjoying an upsurge in activity in recent times, as can been seen with this selection of new appointments and promotions.

New restrictions on retail centres on the outskirts of towns of populations of under 10,000, rural broadband, and new efforts to get the attention of central and local government will be required to fight against the decline of regional main streets across the country, say surveyors.

The costs of rebuilding a home after a fire or a major flood — yardsticks used by insurance firms — is at least €227,440 in some areas, up 5.5% in the past year, and far in excess of inflation, according to surveyors.

Sinking funds, or the annual maintenance fees paid by 204,145 apartment dwellers, owners, and developers, are falling short of meeting long-term bills and will lead to future problems, it has emerged.

The prices quoted for tenders for non-housing construction projects climbed almost 4% in the first six months and will likely reach boom-time levels sometime next year, the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has predicted.

House prices are set to rise by 8% this year, according to a new report.

Apartments are currently not viable to build and too expensive to buy for too many people, according to a new report published by the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland.

The State is set to take an equity stake in people’s homes in an overhaul of the help-to-buy scheme.

The State is set to take an equity stake in people’s homes in an overhaul of the help-to-buy scheme.

The Government wants to reintroduce bedsits as part of a raft of measures to combat the housing crisis.

Long before it was even announced, the help-to-buy scheme had been a source of contention.

The Government “is continually grappling with the effects of the housing shortage, not the cause,” says the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, in response to Housing Minister’s Simon Coveney’s proposal on rent freezes and caps, in Dublin and Cork.

The Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland has welcomed the decision by the Central Bank to ease deposit rules for first-time buyers.