Does Ireland need a second economic hub to counter-balance Dublin? This will be one of the main topics addressed by former Department of Finance secretary general John Moran at a Dublin 2050 event tomorrow.

Mr Moran will address more than 100 business leaders at the latest event in Dublin Chamber of Commerce’s Dublin 2050 series, which aims to create a new long-term vision for the Dublin region.

The events will consider how people will be living in Dublin in 2050, how they will move around the city, where they will work and how they will spend their free time.

Also speaking at the event will be Housing Agency chairman Dr Conor Skehan.

He will make the case for why the planning and policy decisions we make today must take heed of the huge population growth expected in the Dublin region between now and 2050.

Much larger population

Dublin Chamber CEO

Gina Quin

predicted that Dublin in 2050 will be a very different place to what it is now.

In considering the type of change that might happen in Dublin between now and 2050, Ms Quin said “one only needs to consider how much the city has changed over the past 34 years”.

“In 1982 there was no IFSC, the M50 hadn’t been built, and a dart was only something that a Dubliner threw at a board on a wall in a smoke-filled pub.”

She said similar change can be expected over the next three decades.

“It is essential that we start planning for what is coming down the line. This means everything from putting in place the infrastructure necessary to cope with a much larger population through to embracing and capitalising on new technological advancements which will potentially greatly enhance quality of life.”

Dublin Chamber will publish the new Dublin vision in autumn 2016.