Housing in Ireland needs to be developed in a more sustainable manner, the newly-elected president of the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) has said.
Ms Wendy Jane Catherwood, who runs her own commercial property practice in Dublin, is the first woman president of the IAVI in its 77-year history.
Ms Catherwood told the IAVI annual general meeting in Dublin that Ireland "should be doing better" when it comes to developing more sustainable housing. "We have a lot to learn from countries like Denmark and the Netherlands which are leading the way in the area".
She said that in a recent study of the sustainability of European housing "Ireland regularly finished in the bottom six and usually in the last four".
Among the topics covered in the survey were construction materials, waste, pollution, traffic congestion, water and air purity, energy consumption and recycling.
Ms Catherwood said she was encouraged "by the recent changes in the approach to density". She added that properly designed high-rise buildings could have many advantages.