Over 1,300 of the country’s property, construction and land professionals came together last Thursday night for the annual dinner of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). The event, one of the biggest annual gatherings in the property industry’s calendar, was held at the Clayton Hotel on Burlington Road, Dublin 4. Sponsors on the night included Bank of Ireland and Addleshaw Goddard.

While the SCSI’s continuing drive for sustainability was once again reflected in the menu with breaded hake replacing the dinner’s traditional fare of steak for a second year in a row, SCSI president Kevin James took the opportunity in his speech to address the current sustainability, or otherwise, of the surveyors’ profession here in Ireland.

For while the SCSI expects close to 3,000 surveyor positions to be created across the industry between 2023 and 2026 if the economy grows by 4 per cent per annum, Mr James pointed out that this would see a shortfall of almost 1,100 surveyors during that timeframe. The SCSI president added that this is a conservative estimate. the consequences of which will put further pressure on efforts to address the housing crisis.