Increasing the use of vacant properties should be considered to address the imbalance between housing demand and supply.
The latest Residential Buildings Report shows there are just under 87,000 vacant homes and just under 22,000 derelict homes.
Waterford had a vacancy rate of 2.6% and a dereliction rate of 1.4% - both among the lowest in the country.
The government introduced a Vacant Homes Tax in Budget 2023, in an attempt to increase the number of properties available to buy or rent.
Research Professor at the ESRI, Kieran McQuinn, says the pandemic had a knock- on effect on the building of new homes.
"We sill have after affects of the pandemic in terms of inflationary pressures which are there," he said.
He added that over the last two or three years, there has been a significant increase in output.
For more Waterford news and sport, click here.
