Published in the Irish Independent, 9 November 2007

A warning that builders may cut back on house building because of a possible 20pc increase in costs has been issued by the president of the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCS), Felix McKenna.

He called on the planning authorities to prevent such cutbacks by allowing developers to construct more homes on their sites.

Speaking at the society's annual conference yesterday, he said: "Increased development densities are vital, otherwise the economics of residential development in city areas simply will not work."

He said that adherence to the sustainable urban housing design standards published by the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government could add up to 20pc to the cost of an average apartment or townhouse, "as by applying the current development plan site densities, the guidelines are likely to reduce the number of units permissible on a site by as much as 15pc".

Representing surveyors in the property, construction and academic sectors, the SCS president went on to state that additional cost will not be reflected in increased selling prices in the current market, so the medium-term effect may well be an unexpected reduction in the number of apartments or townhouses completed in the city. "Not what we desire, as we seek to justify massive investment in public transport," he declared.

He called for "a more dense urban form, which supports investment in public infrastructure and public realm and a more sustainable form of land-use".

Referring to critics of one-off rural houses, Mr McKenna said: "While it is fashionable to be highly critical of one-off houses in rural Ireland, as someone born and reared in those parts, I don't quite share that simplistic analysis." A native of Monaghan, he argued:

"Vibrant rural communities require people, so the challenge is to find a planning model that strikes a balance between encouraging people to live in the countryside and respecting natural resources".

The SCS president also condemned the government for its delays of Transport 21 projects at a time when there was some underutilised capacity in the construction industry.

He noted that while Ireland is ranked 22nd on the world competitive economy scale, it is just 49th in infrastructure, 55th in railway infrastructure, 60th in roads and 64th in airports.