Look at our planning laws. Believe it our not, the min size for a 1 bed apartment is 38 sq. m - I'd say prisoners have more room!!! A development was recently pulled by An Bord Pleanala in D4 because the builder tried to sneak in 35 sq. m apartments. This compares with 70 sq m in Denmark as the min size for a 1 bed apartment.
The giovernement needs to lead the high-density building rather than the builders. Build at public transport hubs and avail of existing and future rail infrastructure to avoid the mistake of the 90's, particularly in Dublin.
Builders have been allowed dictate what they want to build. In terms of quality, cavity block construction is going to really hurt, particularly when the energy directive kicks in. I'd agree that quality is not just the standard of the finish and energy performance, but also sustainable buildings where people can raise families. Anyone seen 3 bed apartments that you could raise a family in? That's where we differ from the Europeans - pack 'em in and stack 'em high doesn't always work.