Industrial estates in Dublin could be rezoned for housing, under a proposal being considered by Dublin City Council.

Officials are warning that the capital will run out of residential land in four years and brownfield sites must now be considered.

However, many of the business parks - like those in Kylemore and Coolock - are privately owned.

The Irish Times reports that rezoning could lead to a 'windfall' for owners of land that is no longer commercially viable. 

The city council's head of housing, Brendan Kenny, says rezoning land is an option - but is not without challenges.

He observed: "A very significant amount... thousands of housing units could be built on these [sites]. But it won't be as simple as that.

"The land is owned by private owners, and in a lot of cases they are owned by dozens of different people - so it won't be that easy to pull all this together."

Mr Kenny added: "There are many older industrial estates around the city, within the city, in really strategic areas.

"If those areas could be rezoned... and that land redeveloped for housing... it could make a big difference to the city."

However, Solidarity Councillor Michael O'Brien claims council management must "explain the rationale" behind the proposal.

He argued: "Without understanding this background context of existing residential zonings one could be misled into thinking that the housing crisis is partly explained by a scarcity of appropriately zoned land.

"This proposed measure would amount to no more than yet another 'nudge' to the private developers who have already demonstrated an aversion to building affordable housing in significant quantities on the land they already own."