Dublin requires the majority of 90,000 new builds urged by 2021

The ESRI has said the country will not need to build as many new houses as previously predicted as there is still a large volume of vacant properties in many counties.

It said the construction of 90,000 houses by 2021 should satisfy demand. Two thirds of this needs to be in Dublin, where new building is required quickly.

The ESRI paper said it did not agree with previous predictions by the Housing Agency, that 64,000 were required by 2018, as there were too many empty properties in the system.