Much of the "avalanche" of land-rezoning now being considered by local authorities in the greater Dublin area should be "frozen" until a rational regional strategy is put in place, according to the professor of urban and regional planning at UCD.
Prof Michael Bannon told a planning conference in Trinity College at the weekend the unrestricted growth of Dublin in the absence of any urban policy throughout the State was "imposing severe pressures and driving up land, housing and other costs".
In the context of "deep concern" over the profits being made by house-builders, he proposed the establishment of a housing commission to examine housing costs and explore ways of ensuring value for money, especially at the lower end of the market.
He said the "thorny question" of the price of building land needed to be tackled, whether by compulsory purchase, preemption by local authorities or by some form of "betterment levy" to ensure land was made available for development at a reasonable price.
There was also a need to build many more low-cost dwellings, whether by the local authorities or through increased support for housing associations and co-operatives, to ensure greater access to affordable housing, particularly by young people.
Whether Dublin would continue to qualify for high levels of EU funding "may be less important than ensuring that resources are channelled to those most in need", he said.
He cited the poverty of flat complexes in the inner city and the "necklace" of poor housing on the periphery.
Given the likelihood that any megascale retail magnet at Quarryvale would have a damaging impact on shopping in the city centre, from which Dublin Corporation still draws much of its rates revenue, the sale of the 50-acre site to Mr Gilmartin seemed to be a case of the corporation shooting itself in the foot.
