Councils across the Irish Republic rezoned more land than was needed for new homes during the property boom, new figures show.

Over 44,000 hectares of land were rezoned for housing over the past decade, this equates to enough land for almost 1.5 million homes, however just 400,000 units are needed up to 2016, according to the Department of the Environment.

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In descending order of over-zoning councils were Roscommon 1,193%, South Tipperary 1,155%, Cavan 857%, Waterford 758%, Clare 717% and Monaghan 705%.

Under-zoning councils were Limerick City, Cork City and Galway City.

"This is the first time local authorities have been given the opportunity to address this. Within 12 months of the RPGs being adopted they have to be done. By the end of this month, all the RPGs will be done. In future we're saying only zone what you need, that's it," a spokesman for the Department of the Environment said.

(GK/BMcC)