News

The National Housing Strategy for People with a Disability (2011-2016 (extended to 2020)) will come to an end this year. A new national strategy is now being developed. The strategy is about facilitating the provision of housing options and related services to disabled people to allow individual choice and support independent living. 

Do you have a disability, care for a disabled person or work in supporting independent living for disabled persons? If yes, have your say on the plan.

We want to hear your views on the current strategy and what you would like to see included in the new national strategy. In order to get involved today, fill out this 10-15 minute questionnaire. The survey is anonymous and confidential. 

The closing date for this round of consultation is Friday 23 April. A further round of consultation on the drafted aims and objectives will be carried out over the summer and autumn months.

Thank you for taking the time to let us know your views, which will feed into the development of the new strategy.

Information you supply as part of this process will be handled in line with our Privacy Notice (read here).

Take the Survey in English   |   Take the Easy Read Survey   |   Tóg an Suirbhé as Gaeilge

	Survey Documents - English	Easy Read Survey Documents - English	Cáipéisí Suirbhé as Gaeilge
	Click here to download an editable Word version of this survey. this can be filled out and emailed to disabilitystrategy@housingagency.ie.	Click here to download an editable Easy Read Word version of this survey. this can be filled out and emailed to disabilitystrategy@housingagency.ie.	Cliceáil anseo chun leagan ineagarthóireachtas Word den suirbhé i nGaeilge a íoslódáil. Is féidir é sin a chomhlánú agus a chur ar ais tríd an ríomhphost chuig disabilitystrategy@housingagency.ie
	Click here to download and print a PDF version of the survey. This can be filled out and posted to: Disability Strategy, The Housing Agency, 53-54 Mount Street Upper, Dublin D02 KT73.	Click here to download and print an Easy Read PDF version of the survey. This can be filled out and posted to: Disability Strategy, The Housing Agency, 53-54 Mount Street Upper, Dublin D02 KT73.	Cliceáil anseo chun leagan PDF den suirbhé i nGaeilge a islodáil agus a chur i gcló. Is féidir é sin a chomhlánú agus a chur ar ais tríd an bpost chuig: An Stratéis Michumais, An Ghníomhaireacht Tithíochta, 53-54 Sráid an Mhóta Uachtarach, Baile Átha Cliath D02 KT73.

If you would like a copy of any of the above to be posted to you, please contact The Housing Agency on +353 (0)1 656 4100. 

• Watch our video to guide you through the survey.
• Watch this message from Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, Peter Burke TD .

The 2024 Housing Practitioners' Conference took place in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on Thursday, 25 April and Friday, 26 April 2024.

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien T.D., opened the conference which involved a day and a half of expert speakers and workshops discussing best practice and policy on housing.

The theme of this year’s conference was “Opportunities for Sustainable Housing”. It involved a mix of plenary sessions and workshops with sessions covering 'Progress Delivery and Future Opportunities', ‘Vacant Homes: Opportunities for Collaboration’, ‘Funding Opportunities’, and ‘Opportunities for a Sustainable Future’.

You can read our conference report and view our highlights reel from the event here.

Conference Report 

Highlights Reel 

The Housing Agency is delighted to launch its Housing Education Bursary Scheme for the 2024/2025 academic year.

Recent years have seen significant developments in the areas of housing delivery and policy. Housing professionals will play a key role in shaping future developments in the sector. The Housing Agency is committed to supporting the education, training, and development of housing practitioners, as well as those interested in developing a career in housing. The Housing Education Bursary Scheme will empower housing professionals to build resilient and sustainable communities in Ireland.

The Bursary Scheme supports students and housing professionals seeking to enrol in housing studies courses offered by the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) and the Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) / Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), starting between September 2024 and January 2025. These include:

How to apply

The bursary awards are intended to support those who would otherwise be unable to secure funding for the full course fees from their organisation or other sources. 

Applicants can apply by downloading and completing the Bursary Application Form, and returning it as a PDF to training@housingagency.ie by the closing date/s outlined above.

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 has today launched the call for applications to the 2024 Research Support Programme. 

The Research Support Programme funds research responding to topical housing issues that have the potential to impact housing policy and practice. 

You can find more information here - https://www.housingagency.ie/Funding-Opportunities

If you would like to receive updates and details about the call for applications for the Research Support Programme please email researchsupport@housingagency.ie 

The National Study of Housing Experiences, Attitudes and Aspirations in Ireland - Residential Satisfaction Report 2023 has been launched. 

The study measures householders’ satisfaction levels with their homes and neighbourhoods and investigates their aspirations for future housing.

The national study commenced its first wave in 2018, the second wave was conducted in 2019 and the third took place during pandemic restrictions in 2020.

The report presents the findings of a nationally representative survey of 1,212 householders in Ireland and qualitative focus groups, with a further 47 householders as part of the fourth wave of the National Study of Housing Experiences, Attitudes and Aspirations in Ireland.

You can read the report below:

National Study of Housing Experiences, Attitudes and Aspirations in Ireland

National Study of Housing Experiences, Attitudes and Aspirations in Ireland  - Accessible version

Access the conference brochure and workshops brochure below:

• Conference brochure    
• Workshop brochure

The 2024 Housing Practitioners' Conference will take place in the Mullingar Park Hotel, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, on Thursday, 25 April and Friday, 26 April 2024 (half day). 

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien T.D., will open the conference which will involve a day and a half of expert speakers and workshops discussing best practice and policy on housing.

The theme of this year’s conference will be “Opportunities for Sustainable Housing”. It will involve a mix of plenary sessions and workshops. Sessions will cover 'Progress Delivery and Future Opportunities', ‘Vacant Homes: Opportunities for Collaboration’, ‘Funding Opportunities’, and ‘Opportunities for a Sustainable Future’.

Registration for the conference is via the Institute for Public Administration (IPA) website - Housing Practitioners' Conference (ipa.ie). 

Today, The Housing Agency has published the fourth issue of the Policy Insights Paper. Issue 4 looks at Office-to-Residential Conversions: Case studies from Tuath Housing.

This Housing Agency Policy Insights Series paper describes how Tuath Housing collaborated with stakeholders to successfully carry out two conversion projects in Park West Business Park , Dublin 12 and Springville House, Cork City. It demonstrates the benefits of repurposing a vacant building, with some of the key findings highlighted below.

• Up to 73% of embodied carbon can be saved compared with a demolition and re-build.
• Office-to-residential conversion projects are a sustainable housing solution, which can help to regenerate areas suffering from vacancy and dereliction,
• Office-to-residential conversions promote the creation of sustainable communities and contribute towards environmental targets.

The aim of this case study is to provide the learnings to other social housing providers to be able to replicate with similar projects.

The Housing Agency Housing Insight Series aims to disseminate good practice in housing and innovative solutions among housing practitioners in Ireland. The papers provide a case study of effective, practical implementation of a piece of housing policy or practice. The resulting short paper is intended to provide a knowledge base and provide ideas to others in the sector, building the overall capacity of the sector. The Housing Agency sources case studies from our staff, The Housing Agency panels, housing practitioners and stakeholders. 

You can access and read the full report here - Policy Insights Paper - Issue 4