Housing needs - Government must tackle challenge

Despite the phenomenal growth in the number of houses in recent years, Environment Minister Dick Roche predicts that 600,000 new homes will be needed in the next nine years.

This means that 66,666 houses will have to be built annually. Providing so many houses presents a real challenge, as the number of homes will have to increase by 38.88%.

This will have enormous implications for planning and community development. Just providing the number of houses will not be nearly enough. It is imperative that they should be quality houses, built in accordance with environmental needs and sited to provide for sustainable communities.