Why is construction dead in the water?

Houses, hotel rooms, offices: you name it, and it's in short supply in Dublin. So why we are no longer building? Naomi Powell reports.

A panoramic view of Dublin city centre, where there is a shortfall of property in many sectors. Photo: Thinkstock

First, there were the queues at property showings – twisting lines of potential buyers anxious to find homes before soaring prices pushed them out of reach.

Then there were families uprooted by skyrocketing rents, many forced into hostels and other temporary digs as a last resort. And now, the news is that Dublin City Council is looking at pre-fabricated houses on derelict sites to shelter the growing numbers of homeless people in the ...