The crisis in accommodating Ukrainian refugees as well as asylum seekers from many countries reflects the broader inadequacy of housing provision. In the last few months, planners, local authorities, central government and developers are regularly deflected into the allocation of blame for a systemic failure which has been decades in the making.

Excessive resort to judicial review by the superior courts is the main current target and is set to be curtailed, but the system of land-use planning in Ireland had been failing long before judicial review became an issue.

Two of the country’s biggest homebuilders, Cairn Homes and Glenveagh, have taken legal action against Kildare County Council over the limits the local authority is seeking to place on the permitted total of new residential units in the county.

With so many politicians berating developers for the slow pace of construction, even where planning permissions are in place, they are complaining that the council is holding them back.

The system of land-use planning in Ireland had been failing long before judicial review became an issue

A feature of population growth in Ireland over the last 50 years has been urban sprawl, including very rapid growth in the counties surrounding Dublin. Contrary to popular perception, the counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, not the city of Dublin, have had the fastest rates of population growth.

The share of Dublin (city plus county) in the census totals has been fairly constant, while the share of the adjoining counties has soared. Kildare County Council has proposed that the number of units to be built in the county over the next six years should fall by 59% compared to the previous six-year period, which saw rapid escalation in both prices and rents in Kildare and everywhere else.

Not enough new units are being built. The Government’s target of around 30,000 nationally is too low to enhance affordability and twice that number is needed, according to an unpublished but widely-leaked report from the Housing Agency.

The National Development Plan has played a role in the formulation of the next round of county development plans. Assessments of housing need at local level have taken on board the declared ambition of Government for ‘balanced regional development’, directing priority away from the greater Dublin area, which means Dublin plus Kildare, Meath and Wicklow.

The Government’s target of around 30,000 nationally is too low to enhance affordability and twice that number is needed

This has been interpreted as justifying targets for residential construction in Kildare below the figures achieved in the recent past, which were insufficient to meet demand and unable to stem the escalation in prices and rents.

The incentive for local authorities, if they control land-use through restrictive zoning and planning consents, is to appease the interest of local voters – national housing targets can be viewed as someone else’s problem. So, councils can agree that it is desirable to build more homes nationally, but can opt out when zoning and planning decisions meet local opposition. This incentive has been built into the Irish system since the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act of 1963.

The act delegated to local authorities, of which there are now 31 around the country, the powers to approve, refuse or delay any building development in the country.

All governments delegate functions to sub-national representative units or to statutory agencies with a national remit. Choices about the terms and extent of delegation are an important part of the political system, almost part of the constitutional order, even where enshrined in amendable legislation.

Since 1963, despite several amending acts, the essential structure remains in place – land-use policy in Ireland is a local matter and central government has little direct influence.

If the councils are unwilling to zone enough land for residential development, or prone to impose conditions on planning approvals which render projects uncommercial, the result will be inadequate supply and unaffordable housing

The rise of Nimbyism and the more active role of residents’ organisations, often dominated by older voters who are home-owners, has altered the political balance to the point where local authorities are coming into conflict with agencies of central government, notably the Office of the Planning Regulator.

It may now be questioned whether national plans to address the crisis in housing can be delivered at all without curtailing the powers of local authorities.

If the councils are unwilling to zone enough land for residential development, or prone to impose conditions on planning approvals which render projects uncommercial, the result will be inadequate supply and unaffordable housing.

The 1963 act and its successors have made local authorities the key players in housing policy. They have always had a role as direct providers of housing to tenants, but their more important function nowadays is the restriction of supply. Since the foundation of the State, local councils have steadily lost functions to central government and its agencies.

At one time, they were critical providers of health services and had a role also in education. Until 1927, they were directly involved in electricity and until recently in the water industry. Councils are fatally conflicted when it comes to land-use planning, as local democracy is supplanted with veto powers for local residents.