Events

We are delighted to announce that booking and registration for the 2022 Housing Practitioners’ Conference is now open and you can register at the details provided below. This Conference will take place as an in-person event this year for the first time since 2019.

The 2022 Conference will take place in the Grand Hotel Malahide on Thursday, May 26th and a half day on Friday, May 27th.

The Conference is being organised as a joint-initiative between the Institute of Public Administration and the Housing Agency.

Programme

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, will open the Conference which will involve a day and a half of expert speakers and workshops discussing best practice and policy on housing, under the umbrella of Housing for All: Supply, Sustainability and Capacity.

The full programme can be found at this link: PROGRAMME LINK

Registration/Booking

You can book your place at the conference at the link provided here: REGISTRATION LINK.

To book your place you will need your contact email address, a Purchase Order Number and an email address for invoicing.

The cost of attending is €320 per person (not including accommodation).

For every 5 participants that are booked to attend, a 6th participant can attend for free.

Accommodation

Accommodation at the Grand Hotel Malahide can be booked separately at a reduced rate and a link to do so will be provided in the coming days.

There are also a number of alternative accommodation options in the vicinity of Malahide and we will forward a list of them for your convenience in due course.

Please forward these details to any colleagues who may be interested in attending.

If you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact us. We look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Summary Report

A Summary Report of the conference can be read here. 

As you will be aware the Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority (AHBRA) was established on the 1st February 2021 and all AHBs are deemed to be registered with AHBRA from 1 January 2022. The interim Regulatory Committee was dissolved on 31st December 2021 and as such, the Voluntary Regulation Code no longer applies. The most recent assessment cycle in 2021 was the last to be carried out by the Regulation Office. The Housing Agency wish to acknowledge those AHBs who have signed up to and engaged with Voluntary Regulation over the past number of years. You have demonstrated great commitment to meeting the Voluntary Regulation Code and Standards and provided support and co-operation to the Regulation Office in the operation of its duties. You should now be well placed to make the transition to statutory regulation.

If you have any queries relating to Statutory Regulation you should refer these to the AHBRA at info@ahbregulator.ie.

The website is available here. 

The Housing Agency’s Statement of Strategy, 2022-2024 was launched yesterday by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD.

The Statement of Strategy outlines how more affordable housing, increasing the supply of social and private homes and addressing social inclusion issues such as homelessness and ageing will be the priorities for the work of The Housing Agency over the next three years.

The Statement of Strategy frames the work of The Housing Agency under three broad themes:

1. Being a centre for housing knowledge;
2. Bridging housing supply and demand; and
3. Building capacity for housing

It outlines how, over the coming years, The Housing Agency will use research, informed policy insights and data to work to achieve a housing system that meets the housing needs of our nation and promotes viable, sustainable communities.

The Housing Agency’s Strategic Plan 2022-2024 has been framed in the context of supporting Housing for All, the Government’s housing plan for Ireland and key trends in the housing system including:

• Diverse and changing housing needs for people living in Ireland.
• Long-term government policy and strategic planning for the Irish housing system.
• A continuing focus on building inclusive, sustainable communities.

The Housing Agency’s Statement of Strategy, 2022-2024 can be read HERE 

An executive summary of the Statement of Strategy can be read HERE 

A list of actions The Housing Agency will provide input under Housing for All can be read HERE 

A recording of the session can be found HERE

The slides of the session can be found HERE

The vision for The Housing Agency's Strategy 2022-2024 is to achieve an integrated housing system, meeting the nation’s housing needs and promoting sustainable communities.

Darragh O'Brien, TD, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will launch The Housing Agency Strategy 2022-2024 on Thursday the 27th of January at 11:15am online via Zoom. Also contributing to the event:

• Mr. Michael Carey, Chairperson, Housing Agency
• Mr. Bob Jordan, CEO, The Housing Agency
• Ms. Áine Stapleton, Assistant Secretary, Department for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Register for the launch at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4oH5G-ALT42zmIE2aEMX_A

The Government’s new housing strategy commits to increasing the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 homes per year over the next decade and providing for an optimal mix of social, affordable, and private housing for sale and rent.

Housing for All: A New Housing Plan for Ireland will be the focus of The Housing Agency's Housing Conference 2021, which will take place online from Monday 8 to Friday 12 November.

Through daily webinars, Housing Conference 2021 will provide an overview of the aims and objectives of Housing for All while facilitating in-depth discussion on each of the four pathways set out in the plan.

Participation in each webinar is free, but advance registration is required. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Download the Housing Conference 2021 Agenda

To register for each webinar please click one of the links below:

All times above are Irish Standard Time

Please note that these sessions will be recorded for future use.

The Housing Agency has today welcomed the announcement of significant investment in housing in Ireland, as set out in Budget 2022.

The €4 billion allocated today shows the Government’s commitment to the ambitious targets outlined in Housing for All and will go towards supporting the housing needs of almost 31,000 additional households in 2022. A total of 11,820 new social homes will be delivered through build, acquisition and leasing programmes – 9,000 of these will be new builds, to be delivered as part of a €2.6 billion capital funding programme.

Welcoming today’s announcement, The Housing Agency CEO Bob Jordan said:

“Budget 2022 represents the first step in delivering on the Government’s housing objectives, as set out in Housing for All.

“The Housing Agency’s vision is to promote sustainable homes and communities. Through making long-term investments in affordable high-quality homes for purchase or rent, this Budget represents a commitment to that vision.

“It is critical that we increase our housing supply to at least 33,000 homes per annum. The Housing Agency will play a key role in increasing supply, with methods to address vacant homes to the fore. We will manage the Croí Cónaithe Fund, which will support affordable apartments in urban areas. With €50 million being provided to establish the Fund in 2022, it will deliver medium to high density housing at a lower cost, for apartment living in blocks of four storeys or more. The Agency will also establish a central advisory service to assist Local Authorities with a compulsory purchase order programme for purchase of vacant buildings for the provision of social and affordable homes.

“The Housing Agency will continue to advise and support Government on housing affordability and welcomes the allocation of €175 million to deliver 4,130 homes for affordable purchase or rental in 2022. We look forward to continuing our management and administration of the Cost Rental Scheme, providing affordable and secure homes to rent through approved housing bodies. The continuation of the Help to Buy scheme, as well as new affordable purchase initiatives such as the First Home Scheme coming on board, will have a significant impact in making homes more affordable."

Mr Jordan added: “Sustainable communities are ones that support the complete life-cycle – meeting our needs as we grow, and having the facilities and supports in place to assist us if and when we need them. We hope that the measures outlined in Budget 2022 will lead to more people living in sustainable cities, towns and villages across Ireland.”

Please note that The Housing Agency is no longer accepting submissions for the Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire.

The Housing Agency is committed to delivering high-quality training to the Irish housing sector. Working with our partners in the Housing Training Network, we provide a coordinated approach to delivering training opportunities for housing practitioners, ranging from information webinars to practice-based workshops, one- and two-day training sessions, and accredited education courses.

We now need your help to plan our training programme for the period 2022-2023 and are asking you to complete a Training Needs Analysis questionnaire.

The Housing Agency has conducted periodic Training Needs Analyses (TNAs) of the Irish housing sector, in April 2016, April 2018, and February 2020. These have supported the development of a wide array of training related initiatives and events, including the creation of the Housing Training Network, the development of the housingtraining.ie website, the introduction of the Housing Education Bursary Scheme, and the delivery of a range of lectures, webinars, workshops, and training sessions.   

Responses to this 2021 Training Needs Analysis will be shared with our partners in the Housing Training Network – the IPA, ICSH, LGMA, RTB and CIH. This will ensure the delivery of quality training outcomes for housing practitioners. Your answers to this TNA will help the delivery and further development of a training offering that fulfils the changing needs of the Irish housing sector. Please also forward to colleagues you think it would be relevant to. 

We would like to thank you for your time in completing this questionnaire. 

The questionnaire should take approximately 10 minutes to complete, and is available at the following link: https://survey.zohopublic.eu/zs/NhB8qf. 

For further information about The Housing Agency's training offerings, please contact training@housingagency.ie. For more information about the Housing Training Network, please visit housingtraining.ie. 

The Housing Agency and the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland will host a webinar outlining the changes to Part V under the Affordable Housing Act 2021, which came into operation on 3 September.

This 60-minute webinar will take place at 3pm on Monday 11 October.

Click here to register

Pat Fitzpatrick, Head of Part V at The Housing Agency will provide an overview of the key changes in the legislation and outline some scenarios which may arise under the new legislation. Ian Galbraith, Chartered Surveyor and Head of Commercial Valuations at Sherry FitzGerald will discuss the changes from an industry perspective and their impact on land valuations. The presentations will be followed by a Q&A session for attendees.

This webinar will be of interest to all those in the housing sector who are involved in the Part V process including surveyors, valuers, developers, landowners and approved housing bodies.

Registration is required to participate in this free webinar. To register please visit https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_XG4lU1zbTaK_wjyw3KkM4g 
 

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD has announced the appointment of Bob Jordan as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Housing Agency. Mr Jordan will take up the CEO position with The Housing Agency next week.

Commenting Minister O’Brien said: “Following on from the publication of the Housing for All Plan the next few years will continue to be a challenging period for all working in the housing sector. Having someone of Bob’s calibre and experience leading The Housing Agency during this critical time will be of great benefit. I would also like to thank John O’Connor for his excellent work as CEO. John’s expertise and knowledge have been invaluable to me and I am glad he has accepted the position of Chair of the soon to be established Commission on Housing.”

Bob Jordan has a strong leadership record in the housing sector. Since 2018 he has been the National Director of the Government's Housing First programme, which provides permanent homes and wraparound supports to people who have experienced rough sleeping and long-term homelessness. Based in Dublin City Council, Mr. Jordan has worked closely with local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, health services and homeless charities to extend the programme nationwide. Prior to his role in Housing First, Mr. Jordan was Chief Executive of the housing charity Threshold for nearly a decade. He was Special Adviser to the Minister for Housing during 2016-2017.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Jordan said: "I am delighted to be taking up the role of CEO of The Housing Agency. The Agency plays a critical role in supporting the delivery of social and affordable housing. In recent years, it has taken on additional responsibilities to respond to the housing challenges we face. With the Government having recently published a new housing strategy, I look forward to working with the Board and staff of The Housing Agency to promote housing supply to meet current and future needs."

Chairperson of The Housing Agency, Michael Carey said: “We are delighted to welcome Bob to The Housing Agency to take on this crucially important leadership position. Bob is a highly regarded housing specialist with over 20 years’ experience of delivering high impact programmes that address complex housing needs.”

Commenting on the departure of outgoing Chief Executive Officer, John O’Connor, who is retiring, Mr Carey added: “John has been an outstanding CEO since The Housing Agency was established in 2012, building a great team of highly dedicated public servants and working closely with the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage, local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies and other organisations. The Board of the Agency would like to thank John for his outstanding commitment and service.’

Minister O’Brien recently appointed John O’Connor as Chairperson designate of the Commission on Housing, which will be established later this year.

In summer 2021 The Housing Agency hosted a series of six free weekly webinars where experts delivered guidance on the governance and management of apartments and multi-unit developments.

The live lunchtime training sessions were of relevance to stakeholders involved with multi-unit developments (MUDs), and particularly to directors of owners' management companies (OMCs).

Recordings of the webinars are now available to view below and on The Housing Agency's YouTube channel.

The views expressed by the speakers in these videos are not necessarily those of The Housing Agency. All information correct as of broadcast date.