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.

The Housing Agency will launch new guidance Multi-Unit Developments – A Guide to Insurance at a webinar to be held at 12.30pm on Tuesday 30 January 2024.

Expenditure on insurance is one of the biggest costs incurred by an owners’ management company (OMC) of a multi-unit development such as an apartment block.  This new guide to be launched at the webinar is intended to help directors of OMCs to navigate the subject of insurance. 

The guide will be of interest to Approved Housing Bodies and Local Authorities, licensed property management agents, homeowners, renters, investors / landlords, insurance professionals, and others providing services to multi-unit developments.

Registration for this free event is required via this link.

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

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 and webinar speakers 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's online webinar series Trauma Informed Care continues on January 29th 2024 with a highly insightful webinar for housing practitioners, Implementing Trauma Informed Care in Professional Practice. 

In this session, Dr. Maria Lotty, Lecturer and Senior Coordinator for Health and Social Care Programmes at the Centre for Adult Continuing Education, University College Cork will provide an overview of Trauma Informed Care from the perspective of direct, front line professional practice including the use of the highly practical TARA model (Trauma, Attachment, Resilience into Action), which she has developed.

The webinar will be chaired by Patrick McCarthy, Head of Local Authority Services 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 - webinar.

The event takes place at 12 noon on Monday January 29th. Register now at this link - Registration 

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

Press release originally issued by Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on 11th December 2023

PRESS RELEASE

Monday December 11th 2023 

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, has today announced the opening of the Interim Remediation Scheme (Scheme) for the funding of emergency fire safety defect works in apartments and duplexes, constructed between 1991 and 2013.

The Scheme will be administered by the Housing Agency on a nationwide basis. The Scheme will be open to applications from Owners' Management Companies (OMCs) from 1pm today December 11th 2023. Applications can be made via the Housing Agency’s website at www.housingagency.ie

The Scheme opening today will provide for the full funding of interim measures in order to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in buildings, pending completion of the full remedial works.

Full remedial works, which will include all necessary fire safety measures as well as those related to water ingress and structural damage, will be funded under a statutory scheme that will be legislated for next year. Work is already underway in the Department on drafting this legislation.

The Minister commented:

“The Scheme I am launching today is an important next step in helping affected homeowners to help get their homes and lives back together. It will ensure that important measures can be put in place immediately to guarantee the long-term safety of the many thousands of apartment residents across Ireland.

“I am delighted that the Housing Agency have committed their knowledge and resources to helping to design and now operate this Scheme on a nationwide basis. Their experience and expertise gained over many years in, for example, the Pyrite Remediation Scheme and the Enhanced Defective Concrete Blocks Scheme will I am sure, prove to be invaluable in helping to ensure the successful implementation of this Scheme during 2024.”

The Minister noted that:

“This Interim Scheme is the result of a significant period of consultation with homeowners' representatives. I would like to pay tribute to their professionalism, diligence and patience through this process, I have engaged with them regularly on this issue throughout the last number of months. Their insights have been an essential element that has allowed my Department, the Housing Agency and Local Authority Fire Services to put together this Scheme that will release funding for vital emergency measures in advance of the full statutory scheme being ready next year.”

ENDS

Further information

• In January 2023, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien T.D announced plans to draft legislation to support the remediation of apartments and duplexes with fire safety, structural safety and water ingress defects, constructed between 1991 and 2013. The proposed legislation will provide a statutory basis for the establishment of an Apartment and Duplex Defects Remediation scheme aimed at protecting the safety and welfare of those living in apartments or duplexes with such defects. The scope, eligibility criteria and conditions of the statutory scheme will ultimately depend on the legislation that is passed by the Houses of the Oireachtas and signed into law by the President.

• Given the overall potential scale and estimated cost associated with rectifying these issues, it is likely that it will take many years to remediate all affected buildings. Resources and works, therefore, will need to be prioritised. Acknowledging this and considering that interim measures might be necessary in certain instances to ensure an acceptable standard of fire safety in buildings before the comprehensive completion of remedial works, the Government is currently introducing an Interim Remediation Scheme on an administrative basis.

• The scale of defects in apartments and duplexes is significant. The Working Group to Examine Defects in Housing that reported to Minister O’Brien in July 2022, estimated that between 50% and 80% of apartments and duplexes (or associated common areas) constructed between 1991 and 2013, may be affected by one or more fire safety, structural safety or water ingress defects. This equates to between 62,500 and 100,000 apartments/duplexes. The average cost of remediation is approximately €25,000 per unit, which means the full statutory scheme could have a potential cost to the Exchequer of between €1.5 billion and €2.5 billion.

• Only defects that are attributable to defective design, defective or faulty workmanship, defective materials (or any combination of these) and were in contravention of the relevant Parts of the Building Regulations applicable at the time of construction will be eligible for inclusion in the statutory scheme. Any defects that originate from inadequate maintenance, poor management etc., will not be included within the scope of the scheme.

• It is intended that a whole building approach will be taken to remediate relevant defects and to improve the safety of all occupants in the building. In light of their existing legal responsibilities and ownership of common areas, it is intended that Owners’ Management Companies will be funded to carry out the necessary remediation works, with specific limitations or exemptions on certain commercial owners.

• A Code of Practice for the Remediation of Fire Safety Defects in the context of the Fire Services Acts, to provide guidance to relevant professionals, including guidance on interim safety measures was published in July 2023. The provisions of this Code of Practice will also ensure a consistent approach nationwide to remediation.

• The scheme will provide for a form of certification, based on the Code of Practice, in relation to the works carried out to remediate defects in an apartment/duplex building. This is important for a range of stakeholders and processes e.g. insurance bodies, financial institutions, conveyancing etc.

• Additional special resources have been allocated in the Department and the Housing Agency to co-ordinate and oversee the administration of the Interim Scheme.

 

You can access the application portal here: Interim Remediation Scheme of Fire Safety Defects in Eligible Apartments and Duplexes 2023 | The Housing Agency

On 1st December, The Housing Agency, working in association with the Land Development Agency (LDA) and the Geary Institute for Public Policy, UCD, will deliver a conference entitled “Land for Affordable Housing”.

The management of land to produce affordable housing options is a central issue facing the housing sector in Ireland. The Housing Agency, the LDA and the Geary Institute for Public Policy, UCD, have previously collaborated on this topic at the ISHF in Barcelona and the "Talking About Land" series. This half-day event will continue these conversations and feature experts from organisations in Ireland dealing with these issues such as the LDA, OPR, and NESC, with a format based on questions and discussion.

Expert panellists from across the sector will review the work of the previous events and discuss the solutions and a way forward that will help manage Irelands precious land resources to further support the delivery of social and affordable housing.

Registration for this event is at capacity, and a waitlist is in operation. If you wish to be notified about future events, please email training@housingagency.ie.

More details on our event at ISHF Barcelona in June 2023 are available on our website here: The Ground Beneath Our Feet - public land use and delivery of affordable housing

The “Talking About Land” series is available to access here: “Talking about Land” series.

The agenda for this in-person conference is available to download here - Conference Programme

You can view the highlights reel from the day here - YouTube

The Summary Report from the conference is available to download here - Conference Summary Report

 

The Housing Agency is delighted to launch its Leadership in Housing Bursary Award for 2024.

The delivery of sustainable, affordable, and high-quality homes is one of the key issues in Ireland today. Agile and impactful leaders are crucial to developing a well-resourced, motivated, and expert housing sector that can effectively adapt to change and overcome challenges to deliver new homes and thriving communities. The Housing Agency wishes to further support the development of leadership skills in the housing sector through a bursary award for further education in this field.

 

This bursary award will support a student to enroll on the Diploma in Leadership Development course offered by the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School:

Diploma in Leadership Development (30 credits at NFQ Level 9)

(course commencing 8th February 2024)

Further course details are available at the following link: Diploma in Leadership Development

 

Applicants wishing to apply for the bursary award should submit the bursary application form to The Housing Agency on or before the 15^th December 2023.

 

Please note, admission to the relevant course is separate from the bursary award: in order for applicants to be eligible for the bursary award they must also meet the application and eligibility requirements of the course provider.

The course provider application procedures are set out on their website and is available at How to Apply | UCD Smurfit School

Please note that admission to course is separate from the bursary award application, and applicants must also complete the course providers’ standard course application process.

Course application closing dates may differ to those of the Bursary Scheme.