It is unfortunate when high-density housing is mentioned, most people think of Ballymun. Unfortunate because, as one Irish architect points out, "Ballymun is not high density; it's low density but high rise". The misconception has played its part in keeping Irish residential densities - averaging between six and 10 units per acre - at the lower end of European standards.

For many years, politicians and lobby groups have cited the north Dublin estate as the ultimate argument against any move upwards, favouring a trend towards homogenous low-density estates comprising detached and semi-detached houses surrounded by plenty of open space.

There are signs, however, that attitudes are finally changing. Since the publication of the Bacon Report last April, a consensus has emerged among planners, environmentalists and developers that higher densities have a role to play in easing the current housing shortage.

The report emphasised that higher densities made better use of existing infrastructure, provided the market demand to sustain local businesses and amenities and reduced energy needs and carbon monoxide emissions.

In moving towards increased densities, however, it stressed design standards needed to be better than the existing suburban norm. This issue of the quality of design has become central to the density debate.

Eoin O'Cofaigh, president of the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland (RIAI) says "in order to persuade people to introduce higher densities, there must be better quality of design. The main reason why people are against increasing densities is because they fear a reduction in quality".

He says the only people to benefit from the current situation, where land supply is failing to meet residential demand, are landowners. The bias towards low-density estates, he adds, is "a flagrantly wasteful use of land".

"Higher densities would mean a more environmentally sustainable situation. If you look at a dispersed settlement like Lucan, for example, it has resulted in a lot of agricultural land being gobbled up and because it is so spread out it cannot sustain a social infrastructure. People must drive to the shops and every household is forced to have two cars. At greater densities, you can walk to the shops and support a public transport network."

Ken MacDonald, managing director of Hooke & MacDonald, says "misinformed and outdated" views on densities have resulted in the under-utilisation of land. "Current housing densities attract monotonous designs and layouts of estates. They also don't allow flexibility of movement for residents who wish to move to larger homes in the locality."

Areas close to public transport routes and "brownfield" locations, such as the Dublin Docklands area, are ideal for high-density housing, he says. The Dublin Docklands Development Authority has already acknowledged the need for higher density housing, setting a target of 100 units per acre. However, Mr MacDonald says the area could facilitate at least twice that density. "There will be a real opportunity lost if we do not have higher densities in the docklands."

Densities of up to 200 units per acre already exist in some areas of Dublin city, notably in the new Smithfield village development. Mr MacDonald says there are also plenty of examples of high-quality estates in suburban areas with densities at least twice the national average.

"It all comes back to quality of design," he says, adding, "you could comfortably have 250 units per acre without sacrificing living style or open spaces".

The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, has been keen to advance the issue and last month appointed consultants to draft planning guidelines on densities. Earlier this year, he requested local authorities to be more flexible in the drawing up of draft development plans, which may now be reviewed by the consultants.

According to Mr MacDonald, "some planners have responded well but some local authorities took no notice. They did not appreciate the social thinking behind the request."

Niall Cussen, president of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI) says the main concern of planners was that "it would become easier for people to build at higher densities willy-nilly wherever they find sites. In terms of location, there has to be an environmental dividend".

The most suitable locations for high-density housing are those well serviced by public transport, he says. For this reason, the issue shouldn't be seen "as higher densities full stop. You have to look at whether the infrastructure has to be improved or even provided: not just drainage but public transport and amenities."

He adds that there still remained an instinctive resistance among many people to the concept of higher densities, adding that "society at large needed to face up to the issue in a more informed way".

To this end, the IPI and RIAI are holding a major conference in Dublin later this month on the theme "The Housing Crisis: Is Higher Density a Solution?".

The conference will focus on how the density issue is being tackled in other countries with speakers from the Netherlands, Britain and the US.

While Ireland lags behind the rest of Europe in promoting higher housing densities, Mr Cussen says "in one sense, we are in a great position because we have the opportunity to learn and avoid the mistakes other countries have made".

Further information on the conference, which takes place in the O'Reilly Hall, UCD, on November 19th, is available from the RIAI at (01) 676 1703.