Strategic plan says country will need 500,000 homes in next two decades

Ireland will need an extra 600,000 jobs and 500,000 more homes over the next two decades.

That is one of the key messages to emerge from ‘Ireland 2040 — Our Plan’, the Government’s long-term strategic planning framework for future growth and prosperity, a draft of which was published late last night.

The plan will guide national, regional, and local planning opportunities throughout the country together with investment decisions for at least the next two decades.

To cope with the predicted additional 1m people, an extra 600,000 jobs and half a million homes will be required.

In terms of overall population and employment growth and new housing provision, Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, and Waterford cities will be targeted to accommodate 50% of overall national growth between them, with Ireland’s range of large and smaller towns, villages, and rural areas accommodating the other 50%.

There will be a major new policy emphasis on renewing and developing existing built-up areas rather than continual expansion and sprawl of cities and towns out into the countryside.

At least 40% of new housing will be delivered within the existing built-up areas of cities, towns, and villages on infill and/or brownfield sites.

To address rural decline, a significant proportion of national population and economic growth will be targeted at building up the fabric of smaller towns, villages, and rural areas. This will involve redeveloping derelict and under-utilised lands.

The plan also envisages more strategic and co-ordinated planning of cities and large towns across local authority boundaries, as well as the creation of a new independent Office of the Planning Regulator.

Housing minister Eoghan Murphy said the plan is “a shared vision and ambition” for what Ireland could look like by 2040.

“We’ve been through a period of profound change in our recent history, with new challenges to come,” he said.

“We now have to plan for our future if we are to successfully navigate the challenges of population growth, demographic change, and evolution in work and life practices that are on the way.”