In the wider market, the issue of mortgage arrears also remains significant – currently standing at above 15 per cent of all mortgages. Constraints on lending and the cost of land will also have an impact on supply. As ever, there is a high level of demand for the rental sector, but how can we ensure that this is affordable? The Residential Tenancies Board latest Rent Index report shows that as of Q2 2018, standardised average rents are continuing to trend upwards at an accelerated pace.

There is also the need to ask ourselves what types of housing and communities we need and want to foster. Simply saying we need to ‘build more housing’ is not entirely the solution – what is the right type of housing supply? How can we make better use of our existing buildings? How can we cater for the increasing number of one and two-person households? Single-person households currently account for 47 per cent of the entire social housing waiting list.

Focused conference

This conference will focus on the challenges that lie ahead, look at progress to date and discuss the way forward to ensure we are able to tackle the housing crisis. It will bring together the key stakeholders with an interest or role in housing in Ireland and attract a good attendance from right across the sector.