Sixty thousand new services jobs will be created in Ireland this year, and the company claims that if 25% of these are accommodated in offices in Dublin, this will generate a demand for approximately two million square feet of additional office space.

On the supply side, Dublin's docklands has seen the greatest level of recent activity, both on the south and north docks.

"The reason for this is obvious, " says CBRE's director of investment, Sean O'Brien.

"There is a ready supply of brownfield sites with good infrastructure and services together with a streamlined Section 25 planning process."

The central business district vacancy rate has dropped dramatically and is now at 5.7%, a level which is generally accepted to mean that supply and demand are in equilibrium.

"The expectations are that the vacancy rate will drop even further, " O'Brien says, "which will tilt the balance of power more in favour of landlords/ developers, which is the opposite of what has prevailed for a number of years now."

The effects of this have been evident in the market over the last 12 to 18 months in that tenant inducements have been shrinking, while rents have been rising.

Typically, rent-free periods are now measured in months rather than years, while the prime rent has risen from 45 per sq ft to approximately 57.50 per sq ft with higher levels being achieved on smaller lettings."

In the international context, Dublin is still at a substantial discount to London without being regarded as cheap when compared to the rest of Europe.