There is one key question at the heart of housing policy that remains lost in a fog. It is a surprisingly simple one. Where and how do we want people to live?

There is a theory here; then what is happening in practice. And caught in the middle are younger people trying to work out where they can find a place to buy or rent.

Let’s, for the sake of illustrating this, consider a young, middle-income couple both working in the Dublin region. A key goal of housing policy, as outlined in successive official housing and climate documents, is to encourage new buyers to live closer to city centres in what are called compact or “denser” developments. The implicit, though rarely stated, trade-off is that they live in somewhat smaller accommodation, with the advantage being a shorter commute, on public transport, and schools, shops and other services close by. The end of the car-based commuter lifestyle, in other words.

The compact living schemes with affordable, cosy apartments and duplexes beside a train line exist more in the illustrations in official documents than in reality

But our younger couple won’t find many options that look like this. The compact living schemes with affordable, cosy apartments and duplexes beside a train line exist more in the illustrations in official documents than in reality. Read the planning history for many infill sites for apartments or housing close to Dublin city centre, which could provide this option and weep. The Metro, if it is ever built, is unlikely to run until the late 2030s.

There is, in other words, an enormous hole in our compact-living goal. And that is before even........

© The Irish Times