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 .

Meaningful engagement with households is the greatest predictor of a successful Traveller-specific accommodation scheme, according to the authors of a new report.

The report, Good practice in the development and design of Traveller-specific accommodation, was commissioned by The Housing Agency to research and prepare draft guidelines on good practice on the appropriateness of location, scale and design of Traveller-specific accommodation, for the Minister at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The research was undertaken by a consortium led by desiun Architects with the support of the Public Policy Advisors Network.

 The report’s authors make a number of recommendations, including that funding should be provided for early, meaningful and consistent engagement with Travellers in the planning and development of Traveller specific projects.

This engagement should be undertaken before design work commences and should continue during design development. A high degree of involvement from Travellers with the design development should be sought, as well as inputs for the management and maintenance of the site, and a strategy for allocations.

The report also recommends that new sites should be located where amenities are close by and, generally, not in peripheral or isolated locations.

Read the full report here - LINK

PRESS STATEMENT

Wednesday, 18th December, 2024

Housing Agency announces Martin Whelan as new CEO

The Housing Agency is pleased to announce that Martin Whelan has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Agency and will take up the role on 31st March, 2025.

Mr Whelan will join The Housing Agency from the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) where he is currently Head of Group Corporate Affairs and Communications.

Speaking following his appointment, Mr Whelan said: “I have become very familiar with the valuable work of The Housing Agency over an extended period and I see this role as one that is of immense significance to our society – now more than ever.

“Delivering sustainable and affordable housing for everyone in Ireland is rightly seen by so many people throughout Ireland – and by our policymakers – as an overriding priority.

“I look forward to leading the outstanding people in The Housing Agency in working with political, social, industry and other stakeholders to play a major part in achieving that.”

Mr Whelan’s appointment has been welcomed by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, who said: “I am delighted to welcome Martin to his new role as CEO of The Housing Agency. The organisation provides invaluable support to my department and plays a crucial role in our delivery of much needed housing initiatives. With Martin’s experience and expertise, we look forward to working together and building further on the great work the Agency has already achieved.”

Michael Carey, Chairman of The Housing Agency, said: “Martin is a highly experienced corporate leader with extensive expertise in corporate governance, organisational strategy, and strategic management. Martin also brings considerable experience across corporate affairs, including government, media and public relations, communications and leading stakeholder engagement.

“These roles have also given him significant exposure to major housing policy initiatives in which the NTMA has a role over the past decade, inputting into the strategy of and leading external affairs and stakeholder engagement across the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund’s (ISIF) €1bn housing and enabling infrastructure programme, Home Building Finance Ireland’s (HBFI) €2bn development finance programme, and NAMA’s commercial, residential development, and social housing programmes.”

Mr Whelan has been Head of Group Corporate Affairs and Communications at the NTMA since 2017. He has previously served as a Non-Executive Director at Threshold Ireland.

ENDS

Contact: Breda Heffernan, Communications Manager, The Housing Agency, 087 6296693, breda.heffernan@housingagency.ie

Notes to Editors:

About The Housing Agency

The Housing Agency supports the development of sustainable communities across Ireland. It works to meet the nation’s housing needs by:

• Co-ordinating programmes that can transform how we live. 
• Providing technical support to accelerate the delivery of housing projects.
• Using data and research to provide evidence-based solutions.
• Advising the Government on housing policies.
• Collaborating with all those involved in the housing sector in Ireland to ensure we are working as effectively as possible. 

A State-funded body, The Housing Agency works mainly with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, local authorities and non-profit housing providers.

For many disabled people, independent living can be assisted with peer support.

Peer support is a supportive relationship between people who have shared experiences. It is based on the knowledge that disabled people are experts in recognising the barriers they face and the means in which such barriers can be tackled.

As part of the National Housing Strategy for Disabled People, The Housing Agency has examined national and international examples of peer support models and explored what supports are currently available in Ireland and how, if necessary, they can be adapted or expanded to assist disabled people to live independent lives in their community.

The report, Peer Support Models, Examining models both nationally and internationally,  finds that the value of lived experience has been acknowledged as an integral component in assisting marginalised groups such as disabled people to live independently.

Read the full report here

The Housing Agency has today November 7th 2024, published the Statement of Strategy 2025 – 2029.

This strategic plan, the first five-year plan published by The Housing Agency and the fifth Statement of Strategy since its establishment in 2012, provides an opportunity to build on the achievements of the Agency’s previous strategies. The Strategic Plan 2025-2029 has been informed by external and internal consultation on the key challenges facing the housing system and how these impact the priorities of the Agency

Over the period of this Strategic Plan, the Agency will continue to work to deliver the homes people need. Our activity will be structured under three themes:

• Theme 1: Being a Centre for Housing Knowledge
• Theme 2: Addressing Housing Supply and Affordability
• Theme 3: Supporting the Creation of Sustainable and Inclusive Communities

You can read The Housing Agency Statement of Strategy 2025 – 2029 here - Statement of Strategy 2025 – 2029

The Housing Agency is delighted to announce the winner of the 2024 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:

Haley Curran for the essay entitled “Housing Co-operative 2.0: how could a co-operative housing model work in the modern Irish housing landscape?” which has been published on our website here.

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

Diarmaid Hough for the essay entitled “An examination of the State’s ability to address the need for housing provision through the use of semi-state bodies”

and

Orla Connaughton for the essay entitled “Exploring the Limitations of the Housing First Model in Ireland”

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.

As part of Pride Month, the Policy & Practice team at The Housing Agency carried out a literature search to bring together in one place a list of housing and accommodation related research and publications which provide insights into the experience of LGBTQI+ people in Ireland.

This paper is structured as a bibliography, providing the title, reference and access link to the 11 publications that were found to meet the criteria of; providing insights into the LGBTQI+ experience of housing in Ireland for the 2014 to 2024 time period which were publicly available.

You can read the paper here Irish LGBTQI+ Housing Related Publications Paper 2024.pdf (housingagency.ie) 

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