Events

April  

• On 11th April, €100m in funding was announced for almost 550 new affordable cost rental homes. The funding announced will provide for developments in Laois, Kildare, Kilkenny, Cork City and Dublin City. 

• The commencement data for Q1 2024 was released and shows that 11,956 homes were commenced in the first three months of 2024, up 63% on the same period in 2023. In the last twelve months (April 2023 to March 2024), 37,408 units were commenced, up 37% on the prior twelve months. 

• The Homeless Report for March 2024 was published and found that 13,866 people were accessing emergency accommodation during the week 25-31 March 2024.  

• The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage published the Housing for All Q1 2024 Update report. Key updates include the extension of waiver on development levy, 12,000 homes started construction in Q1 2024, 4,376 applications for the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, and additional €40m in state funding committed to the First Home Scheme.  

May 

• On 22nd May, the Housing Commission published its report, including its overall review of Ireland’s housing system, together with a number of reports in relation to the wording of a referendum on housing.  

• Under the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme (THRIVE), twenty-six town centres were awarded funding of up to €200,000 each. This funding was awarded under Ireland’s two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Regional Programmes.  

• The Homeless Report for April 2024 was published and found that 14,009 people were accessing emergency accommodation during the week 22nd – 28th April 2024.  

June  

• The Homeless Report for March 2024 was published and found that 13,866 people were accessing emergency accommodation during the week 25-31 March 2024.  

• On 5th June, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD today announced that he received Government approval for a Local Authority Purchase and Renovation Loan (LAPR). The loan, which is an expansion of the Local Authority Home Loan, will support both the purchase and renovation of homes which are eligible under the existing Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant 

• Under the third call for the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), more than 1,200 vacant and derelict properties have been identified and approved under the scheme. The residential yield from these properties is 5,406 homes.  

• €93 million has been allocated to local authorities for Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and Disabled People.  

• The Build 2024 Construction Sector Performance and Capacity Report was published, showing there were over 41,000 planning permissions for housing units in 2023 and 17,601 homes were upgraded to a BER rating of B2 or above in 2023, an increase of 108% relative to 2022. 

Relevant publications  

• The Housing Agency – Policy Insight Series Issue 4 – Office-to-Residential Conversions: Case studies from Tuath Housing – 4th April 2024 

• DHLGH - Domestic Violence Refuge Accommodation - Project Brief Design Guidelines 2024- 1st May 2024 

• ESRI – Household Size in Ireland: Stylised facts and cross country trends – 1st May 2024   

• ESRI - How do EMN Member States ensure systems for housing International Protection Applicants are ‘flexible’? – 3rd May 2024  

• Simon Communities - Under the Radar: Unveiling Hidden Homelessness Across the Island of Ireland - Simon Communities in Ireland – 16th May 2024 

The Research Summer Series is back for 2024! On June 18th, the first of The Housing Agency’s Research Summer Series of webinars will discuss Housing Choices for a Sustainable Future. This sessions speakers are Martin Colreavy, Senior Adviser, Strategic Delivery and Urban Advisory, at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and Philip Comerford, Independent Architect, Housing and Urban Infill, at Philip Comerford Architects, Dublin.

The summer series will bring together housing practitioners, academics and public servants to discuss housing research. The webinar will be of particular interest to architects, quantity surveyors, engineers, housing practitioners and policymakers.

You can register for the webinar here – Housing Choices for a Sustainable Future Tickets, Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite

Martin Colreavy will discuss innovation and efficiencies in the design of affordable housing, featuring case studies from Ireland and the EU. The presentation will explore key topics within the current landscape of affordable housing and discuss how affordable housing can be effectively delivered through innovation in construction and design.

Philip Comerford will discuss the whole life-cycle carbon emissions of different dwelling types found in Ireland. He will provide an examination of the climate impacts of housing and explore how policy goals and housing choices can create low energy and climate resilient sustainable communities.

The Housing Agency presents a lunchtime webinar intended to provide an overview of the role of the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) vis-à-vis company law, as it applies to owners’ management companies (OMCs) of multi-unit developments such as apartments.  

The Corporate Enforcement Authority is Ireland’s company law enforcement agency. Its mission is to promote and serve the public interest by ensuring high levels of compliance with company law through effective advocacy and proportionate, robust, and dissuasive enforcement.

At the webinar Fallon Judge, Director of Civil Enforcement with the CEA, will discuss:

• Directors’ duties and responsibilities,
• CEA’s role in encouraging compliance with company law,
• Resources available to the CEA,
• CEA’s graduated approach towards enforcement, and
• CEA’s complaints processes. 

The webinar will be of interest to people involved with OMCs, including directors and members of OMCs, licensed property management agents, residents, Approved Housing Bodies, Local Authorities, and others involved with OMCs.  

The hour-long webinar will take place at 12.30pm on Tuesday 16 April 2024. 

Registration for this free event is required via this Zoom link.

Upon registration a confirmation email will issue with information about how to join the webinar. 

Questions for the webinar Q&A may be emailed in advance before Friday 12 April 2024 to MUD@housingagency.ie. 

This is a live event.  Registrants are kindly advised that while a copy of the slides will be circulated after the event, the webinar will not be recorded. 

Places are limited to 1,000 attendees on a first-come first-served basis. 

By registering for this webinar you consent for the purposes of event management to the processing by The Housing Agency of your personal data (name and email address).

Disclaimer: 

Information provided during the webinar is general in nature.  It should not be considered to amount to legal advice, and no reliance should be placed on it.  The Housing Agency and the Corporate Enforcement Authority cannot be held responsible for actions or failure to act on foot of the information provided.  Legal or other professional advice should be sought on individual circumstances.

The Housing Agency is delighted to announce the winner of the 2023 Housing Agency Essay Prize competition. This prize is awarded to the most original student essay submitted for assessment as part of the Institute of Public Administration’s Professional Diploma in Housing Studies. This year’s winner is:

Killian O'Sullivan for the essay entitled “Childcare Provision in New Housing” which has been published on our website here.

In addition, there were two runner-up prizes awarded. These were:

Malachy Egan for the essay entitled “The Land Development Agency – A Structural Analysis within Irish Housing Policy”

and

Stephen Owens for the essay entitled “Do publicly available statistics and associated commentary improve our understanding of the Irish housing market.”

The Housing Agency would like to congratulate the winner and the runners-up on the quality of their essays, the originality of their research, and their engagement with public policy.

The Housing Agency is committed to supporting the education, training, and development of Ireland’s housing practitioners.

For more information on the education and training options available for housing practitioners, please see www.housingtraining.ie.

Information about the Institute of Public Administration’s Professional Diploma in Housing Studies, as well as other courses relevant to housing practitioners, can be found here and here.

The Housing Agency is delighted to announce that it has been officially recognised as one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland™ in 2024.

The Housing Agency was recognised at the 22nd annual Great Place to Work Awards on Wednesday, 28th February 2024 which took place in the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin.

Ireland's Best Workplaces™ 2024 is a list recognising the top certified organisations of all sizes and industry sectors in Ireland.

The Best Workplaces in Ireland 2024 Irish Times special report will be published on Thursday 29th February in The Irish Times and the Irish Examiner newspapers. There will be a digital version hosted on the Best Workplaces website and on The Irish Times website. The special report will outline which organisations made the 2024 list, key insights on what makes a great workplace culture, and a look into Ireland's influence in the European market.

You can read more about Best Workplaces here https://www.greatplacetowork.ie/great-workplaces/irelands-best-workplaces/irelands-best-workplaces-2023/

To be considered for Ireland's Best Workplaces™ recognition, participating organisations are required to be Certified™ as a Great Place to Work in Ireland first.

The Housing Agency received the Great Place to Work certification in October 2023. The Great Place to Work certification demonstrates The Housing Agency's commitment to providing an excellent working environment for staff to feel proud and valued for the work they do. As part of the certification process, staff in The Housing Agency were surveyed about their perception of their work experience and working environment in a Trust Index survey which consisted of 73 confidential questions.

The Housing Agency is a state agency that supports the delivery of high-quality homes and thriving communities. We are a growing organisation, looking for motivated problem solvers who want to create a better Ireland.

Find more information about our career opportunities here - https://www.housingagency.ie/careers

The Housing Agency presents a webinar about waste management/segregation, and recycling in multi-unit developments (MUDs), mainly apartments.  Expert speakers from a Waste Enforcement Regional Lead Authority (WERLA), and the Irish Waste Management Association (IWMA), will discuss legal obligations for stakeholders, good practice, and developments in the sector.

The webinar will be of interest to people involved with multi-unit developments, including directors of owners’ management companies, licensed property management professionals, apartment residents, waste management providers, Local Authorities and Approved Housing Bodies.

The hour long webinar will take place at 1.00pm on Wednesday, 13 March 2024.

Registration for this event is required via this Zoom link.

When you register a confirmation email will issue containing information about how to join the webinar.

Questions for the webinar Q&A may be emailed in advance before 12pm on Friday, 8 March 2024 to MUD@housingagency.ie.

The session will be recorded for future use.

Places are limited to 1,000 attendees on a first-come first-served basis.

By registering for this webinar you consent for the purposes of event management to the processing by The Housing Agency of your personal data (name and email address).

Disclaimer:

Information provided during the webinar is general in nature.  It should not be considered to amount to legal advice, and no reliance should be placed on it.  The Housing Agency, WERLA, IWMA, and webinar speakers may not be held responsible for actions or failure to act on foot of the information provided.  Legal or other professional advice should be sought on individual circumstances.

The Housing Agency's online webinar series Trauma Informed Care concludes its current online programme on March 27th, 2024, with a highly insightful and engaging webinar Trauma Informed Care: Vicarious Trauma Self Care for Practitioners. 

In this session, Dr. Briege Casey, Associate Professor at DCU, and Gary Broderick, CEO, The SAOL Project, will give presentations and discuss Vicarious Trauma Self Care for Practitioners. Bob Jordan, CEO of The Housing Agency will also speak and outline the program next stages. 

The webinar will be chaired by Gráinne Johnston, Administrative Officer at The Housing Agency. 

NOTE: A previous webinar in the series entitled, "An Introduction to Trauma Informed Care for Housing Practitioners" is available to view and recommended viewing before attending this event. You can view the recording of the webinar here – Recording

The event takes place at 2pm on Tuesday February 20th. Register now at this link - Webinar Registration - Zoom

Please note that these online events do not train participants to become trauma therapists but assist in helping housing practitioners become trauma aware.

The Housing Agency and the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) present a lunchtime webinar intended to provide an overview of the regulation of licensed property management agents engaged by owners’ management companies of multi-unit developments such as apartments.  

Maeve Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of the PSRA, will discuss the Authority’s regulatory role as it applies to property management agents, governing legislation, consumer protections, and related matters. 

The webinar will be of interest to people involved with multi-unit developments, including directors of owners’ management companies, licensed property management professionals, residents, Approved Housing Bodies, and Local Authorities.  

The hour long webinar will take place at 12.30pm on Wednesday 28 February 2024. 

Registration for this free event is required via this Zoom Link. 

Upon registration a confirmation email will issue with information about how to join the webinar.

Questions for the webinar Q&A may be emailed in advance before 12pm on Friday 23 February 2024 to MUD@housingagency.ie.

The session will be recorded for future use.

Places are limited to 1,000 attendees on a first-come first-served basis.

By registering for this webinar you consent for the purposes of event management to the processing by The Housing Agency and the PSRA of your personal data (name and email address).

Disclaimer: 

Information provided during the webinar is general in nature.  It should not be considered to amount to legal advice, and no reliance should be placed on it.  Neither The Housing Agency nor the Property Services Regulatory Authority may be held responsible for actions or failure to act on foot of the information provided.  Legal or other professional advice should be sought on individual circumstances.

The Housing Agency's online webinar series Trauma Informed Care continues on February 20th, 2024, with a highly relevant and practical session Trauma Informed Care in Homelessness Services Settings.

In this webinar, Niamh Randall, Head of Advocacy and Communications in Respond and Una Burns, Head of Advocacy and Communications in Novas will give presentations outlining their organisation's methodologies and lessons learnt implementing trauma informed care in a homelessness services setting.

The webinar will be chaired by Rob Lowth, Head of Housing First, The Housing Agency.

NOTE: A previous webinar in the series entitled, "An Introduction to Trauma Informed Care for Housing Practitioners" is available to view and recommended viewing before attending this event. You can view the recording of the webinar here – Recording

The event takes place at 2pm on Tuesday February 20th. Register now at this link - Webinar Registration - Zoom

Please note that these online events do not train participants to become trauma therapists but assist in helping housing practitioners become trauma aware.