Ireland's Housing Magazine 2018

Ireland’s Housing Magazine 2018, published in association with eolas magazine and the Housing Agency, is the annual magazine for the Irish housing sector. It features in-depth articles focusing on the major issues, including the progress of Rebuilding Ireland and the challenges of social housing supply, alongside interviews and contributions which explore solutions to the housing crisis.

3rd August 2018

John O’Connor, Housing Agency: Foreword

Meeting our housing need is, as we all know, one of the major challenges currently facing the country. The Government has taken a range of actions; most importantly, implementing the measures set out in the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan. However, the housing issues we currently face require us to continue […]
1st August 2018

Affordability is the key

The Government has failed to deliver on housing. Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on housing Darragh O’Brien TD writes. The housing crisis can be seen clearly across three areas: private housing, social housing and the rental sector. Homelessness has reached unprecedented levels, surging rents are at historic heights, home building numbers are […]
1st August 2018

Housing conference

As the 2018 eolas Housing Conference approaches, we look back at the 2017 event. This annual event brings together all the key stakeholders with an interest or role in housing in Ireland and is addressed by a high level panel of local and visiting speakers.  
1st August 2018

It’s a policy that benefits the few over the many

The human misery being suffered by tens of thousands of women, children and men caught up in the current housing and homeless emergency is quite simply shameful, writes Richard Boyd Barrett TD, People Before Profit. Since being elected to the Dail in 2011, my constituency clinics have seen a constant […]
1st August 2018

Part V overview

As construction gathers pace, developers must be cognisant of their obligations under Part V. Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is a mechanism established by government which dictates that local authorities can obtain up to 10 per cent of land zoned for housing development at “existing use […]
1st August 2018

Apprenticeship crisis within the construction industry

A recent survey carried out by the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) confirmed that 86 per cent of Ireland’s building companies have an inadequate supply of qualified tradespeople. According to CIF, this is an alarming discovery given the well documented growth in the construction sector and future expenditure under Ireland’s National […]
1st August 2018

Replicating and scaling the Ó Cualann model

Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance outline how their model can deliver affordable housing. Re-emergence of Cooperative Housing Ó Cualann Cohousing Alliance continue to encourage the re-emergence of cooperative, affordable housing and cohousing in Ireland. This is being done with support from Local Authorities around the country, and from other housing associations […]
1st August 2018

Private consortium approved for Mortgage to Rent

The introduction of private companies into the Mortgage to Rent (MtR) scheme has been met with mixed reaction. Central Bank statistics from the first three months of 2018 show that there are nearly 30,000 long-term (over 720 days) residential mortgage arrears cases in Ireland and there are concerns that potential […]
1st August 2018

The role of strategic housing development

The new National Planning Framework (NPF) will play a key role in delivering the overall objectives laid down within Project Ireland 2040, according to An Bord Pleanála’s Director of Planning of Rachel Kenny. “It will take full account of the envisaged one million increase in Ireland’s population, which will be […]
1st August 2018

AHBs: The future of the housing sector

Co-operative Housing Ireland is an Approved Housing Body (AHB), working closely with various stakeholders in the housing sector, including Local Authorities, Government, aspiring home owners, tenants and developers, to provide high quality social-rented and home ownership co-operative homes across the country. Since our foundation in 1973, we have provided over […]
1st August 2018

Housing Assistance Payment expansion

The Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) is a form of social housing support available to households eligible to be included on the local authority housing waiting list, including long-term Rent Supplement recipients. Its implementation, with a heavy reliance on the private rental sector, reflects what is regarded as the Government’s policy […]
1st August 2018

Circle Voluntary Housing Association: New horizons

From humble beginnings, Circle Voluntary Housing has been a stalwart in the provision of housing. Circle VHA is a Tier 3 Housing Association, and across its housing management and estate management services, presently manages more than 1,700 homes. At the centre of Circle is its tenants. A building is just […]
1st August 2018

Round table discussion: Challenging homelessness in Ireland

Bord Gáis Energy hosted a round table discussion on the different aspects of addressing homelessness in Ireland. Everyone agrees that getting a sufficient supply of housing is crucial to solving the housing and homelessness crisis, but what is holding back supply? Why isn’t ‘housing need’ leading to ‘housing supply’ as […]
1st August 2018

Homelessness figures increase

There are approximately 10,000 people now classified as homeless in Ireland, including adults and children alike. Indeed, the number of families becoming homeless has increased by 31 per cent over the past 12 months. Worryingly, the total number of Irish people classified as homeless does not include the ‘hidden homeless’, […]
1st August 2018

Quicker re-letting through improved efficiencies

A variation in the time local councils are taking 
to re-let properties and the need to universally speed up the system through efficiencies has been recognised, with some councils pioneering new processes with impressive results. A key challenge identified in Rebuilding Ireland in addressing the social housing waiting list was […]
1st August 2018

Re-classification muddies funding model for new housing

Housing association borrowing is set to go on the Government’s balance sheet, potentially reducing the availability of funding for new social housing. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has warned the Government that associations are not sufficiently independent of public sector control to continue being treated as non-government bodies. The potential […]
1st August 2018

AIB Corporate Banking and the social housing sector

AIB Corporate Banking is actively engaged with the Irish Social Housing sector. We continually look for ways to support the delivery of housing with a key focus of helping those that have a funding requirement. My team and I have been fortunate to work with some of the key operators […]
1st August 2018

Rebuilding Ireland: Minister Eoghan Murphy, TD

Writing in Ireland’s Housing Magazine, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy, TD provides an overview of the developments which have occurred under Rebuilding Ireland over the last two years. As we approach the second anniversary of the launch of Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, […]
1st August 2018

Michael Carey, Housing Agency Chairperson

As the new Chair of the Housing Agency, I am very much looking forward to working with all stakeholders in the housing sector to help address the challenges facing many Irish families as they struggle to secure a home. I am very aware that there is no quick fix and […]
1st August 2018

Cover story: The foundations of a sustainable rental sector

Rosalind Carroll, Director of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), speaks with Ciarán Galway about growth in the rental market and her organisation’s changing role in its efforts to ensure a well-functioning rental sector. The rental sector in Ireland has continued to grow beyond expectations and defied an assumption that, with […]
1st August 2018

Rebuilding Ireland: Where are we now?

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, TD, has been forced to defend the Government’s housing record after new data reveals a serious level of inflation in new build figures over recent years. The Central Statistics Office (CSO) was asked to conduct research into how many homes were being built annually in Ireland […]
1st August 2018

Training the Housing Professional

Identifying as a housing professional At the Housing Agency we repeatedly use the term housing practitioners in our daily work. Who are we talking about? Principally, our clients are staff in local authorities (LAs) and approved housing bodies (AHBs) across the country. We also work with colleagues from the Department […]
1st August 2018

Protecting homes for generations

John Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive of Threshold, outlines the charity’s work in protecting and supporting tenants for over 40 years. The Private Rented Sector in Ireland, through both boom and bust, has undergone significant changes since Threshold was first established four decades ago. Threshold owes its origins to the development […]
1st August 2018

Round table discussion: Closing the Acorn Housing financing and the future funding of social housing

In December 2017, Oaklee Housing, advised by Centrus and ByrneWallace, completed a €50 million financing with Nord/LB to acquire 250 social houses over the course of the next two years. In order to deliver the financing structure, Oaklee created a new special purpose vehicle, Acorn Housing which is a wholly […]
1st August 2018

Public housing is the solution

Fine Gael have been in government for seven years. During that time the number of people living in emergency accommodation has increased by a shocking 319 per cent. Even more startling is the increase in child homelessness up an astonishing 496 per cent. Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing Eoin Ó […]
1st August 2018

House prices remain strong

According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), residential property prices at national level increased by 13.0 per cent in the year to April 2018. This compares with an increase of 12.6 per cent in the year to March and an increase of 9.5 per cent in the 12 months to […]
1st August 2018

Housing: Ireland’s greatest domestic policy challenge

In the Ireland of 2018, the lack of adequate supply of social and affordable housing is one problem that continues to persist. This is the primary cause of the recent phenomenon of ‘economic homelessness’, particularly among families, but it is also increasing the risk of homelessness to all sections of […]
1st August 2018

Improved housing is a core NDP driver

The Government’s National Development Plan (NDP) for the period 2018 to 2027 sets out the investment priorities that will underpin the successful implementation of the new National Planning Framework (NPF). The NDP is intended to guide national, regional and local planning and investment decisions in Ireland over the next two […]
1st August 2018

How to deliver affordable rental?

Access to affordable housing is an issue that continues to dominate news headlines as the crisis worsens. Aside from the challenges faced with the current housing shortage, Project Ireland 2040 anticipates that the population will reach six million by 2040, resulting in an estimated requirement for a further 550,000 homes. […]
1st August 2018

Land availability

In 2014, the then Department of Environment, Community and Local Government, in conjunction with local authority planning departments carried out a national survey of all lands zoned for residential or primarily residential development in statutory local authority development plans and local area plans across Ireland. The Residential Land Availability Survey […]