This week it was reported that hundreds of people objected to the State’s plans to build thousands of homes at Dunsink, an area inside the M50.

A town on a huge empty site inside the M50 is probably the most logical location for construction at scale, not least because the more dense the development the cheaper the homes to residents, the closer they will be to where they work, the lower the commute times and the easier it will be to service the town with transport infrastructure. Once you go out beyond the M50 – inner Dublin’s obvious semi-circular boundary – commuting increases and efficiencies in transport and other infrastructure links diminish.

Yet, here we are again. In the biggest housing crisis in peacetime Europe, residents are intent on obstructing a solution to the housing shortage, exposing the contradiction at the heart of the politics of Irish housing: most people want the housing crisis solved, and yet many of us object to the specific initiatives that would solve it. The more any community opposes supply, the more expensive existing housing becomes; the less it opposes, the cheaper it becomes.

In effect, the politics of Irish housing pits the interest of those people who have homes against those people who do not.

Magnier says Coolmore ban on Regan justified as billionaire seeking to ‘destroy’ him

The future of Phoenix Park: How historic park is facing challenge of an expanding city

Drinks distributor drops ‘Irish’ wine over concern about accuracy of label

Public advised ‘in the strongest possible terms’ not to attend Wicklow-based GP

Bizarrely, the State and institutions of the State have become the referee in this game, as if the State only exists to monitor the rules. This is a complete abdication of responsibility. The State is not the referee, it is a player. Indeed, it is the main player and........

© The Irish Times