Both the Irish Independent and The Irish Times have, in recent months, discussed a supposed shortage of housing stock, and associated price-rise, in South County Dublin. While, when taken at face value, there may be some form of truth to the claims, there is a need for extreme caution in focusing the wider debate on one particular geographical location, particularly in light of such uncertain economic times. In line with recent posts on this blog, the role of the media is of significant importance in influencing these discussions. To take just one example, in the last number of days The Irish Times ran with the headline: ‘House prices in south Dublin up 12.2%, survey shows’. Through reading this article, however, it became apparent that what was being referred to was asking prices as opposed to selling prices. This may seem relatively harmless, yet it has some important repercussions. In another piece later the same day, Michael Noonan, in response to the previous article, mentioned the need for 30,000 new dwellings per year and commented as follows: “Dublin as in many other areas is giving the lead and south Dublin is giving us a strong lead according to one survey prices are up 12%… These things can change very rapidly.”

Such rhetoric raises some important questions. Should there be a rush to build more housing in South County Dublin? Is it in the interests of good planning to maintain housing levels in this area and further pursue a completely disjointed approach towards the delivery of housing more generally. While it may also be argued that this shift is indicative of a more general turnaround in property prices throughout the country, there is a much wider debate to be had. When viewed another way, the rise of property values in one specific geographical area of Dublin could be looked as being indicative of a severely imbalanced social, economic and political system.

Eastern Docks, Amsterdam

As I have argued before, is now not the time to put in place measures that might actually promote more socially balanced cities? As highlighted by Michael Noonan in the above-mentioned article, there is an assumption that market forces will lead to families departing from apartments to houses. However, and not withstanding the importance of wider debates about one-off housing etc., within the larger urban areas, a key challenge lies in dealing with issues such as suburban sprawl, high levels of vacancy within central areas, and the promotion of more socially-balanced cities.

While we should be careful not to place those cities often cited as having a high quality of life, such as Amsterdam, Vienna or Copenhagen, on a pedestal, it is of note that, relatively speaking, they each have a history of strong centres and suburbs as well as more balanced social structures. The relationship between these various factors is, I would argue, a much more important debate to be had. The current obsession with house prices in one particular part of the country does little more than to replicate the same problems of the boom years. Mainstream media can play a key role in ensuring that such rhetoric is challenged and debated at every turn. I would go as far as to say that it has a duty of care to do so.

Philip Lawton

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