High costs of rural housing outlined

Significant costs are attached to one-off housing in the countryside, the director of the National Social and Economic Council (Nesc) has told an Oireachtas committee.

Dr Rory O'Donnell said costs such as the provision of health services and policing had to be taken into account. There were also costs for connections to utilities and for the environment. These costs extended into the long-term, he told the Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Local Government, because as people aged, they were less able to use their cars to access local services.

But Dr O'Donnell, who was briefing the committee on a recent Nesc report on housing policy, said one-off housing also provided benefits to rural communities in the form of greater involvement and care networks. He described Ireland's housing supply situation as "dynamic but unbalanced".

While a large number of policy initiatives had been undertaken, there was an imbalance between the supply and demand of housing, particularly around Dublin, and an excess supply of low-density suburbs. Asked about tenant purchase schemes, he said policy should take into consideration the degree of windfall gain involved.