Dr Dáithí Downey

Dr Dáithí Downey is Head of Housing Policy, Research and Development for Dublin City Council where he also leads the Dublin Housing Observatory as its Principal Investigator. The Dublin Housing Observatory is a new initiative in Dublin City Council’s ongoing development of its overall competencies in housing, planning, economic development, inclusion and integration. The Dublin Housing Observatory’s mission is to make Dublin city an affordable and sustainable place to live by ensuring its housing and urban development strategy, policy and practice is underpinned by robust evidence. Dáithí has over 25 years experience working as a housing practitioner, researcher and analyst in Ireland and the UK as is a member of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He was Director of the Dublin Region Homeless Executive to end of 2016, having previously been its Deputy Director and Head of Policy and Service Delivery from 2006. Dr Downey holds a PhD in Geography from Trinity College Dublin and was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 2016. Dr Downey’s research interests include comparative urban policy with a specialist focus on housing systems and the financing and economics of social and affordable housing.