Minister Darragh O'Brien TD marks The Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency (The Housing Agency's) 10 Year Anniversary
A chairde,
I would like to congratulate the Housing Agency on reaching its milestone 10th anniversary.
The last decade has seen the housing landscape in Ireland change radically. The challenges we continue to face in the housing sphere as a country are varied and many. The Housing Agency lies at the heart of rising to those challenges and working to provide and implement practical and workable solutions to the problems that we continue to encounter.
The Agency has grown dramatically in such a short time. In some ways it is unrecognisable from its small beginnings in 2012. Back then three separate bodies- the Affordable Homes Partnership, the Centre for Housing Research and the National Building Agency were brought together with the express aim of creating a centre of excellence for all things housing. However, it still has at its core a commitment to excellence in everything it does. This is due to the skills, knowledge and experience of its staff. The passion and dedication with which they approach everything they do is evident for all to see.
The Agency has quickly become in a way, a victim of its own success. The more they have done the more they are asked to do (by myself and others!). Understandable of course because of their success in delivering on the tasks they are set. This is in no small way due of course to the leadership at the helm of the Agency. It would be remiss of me to let this opportunity pass without acknowledging and recognising the stewardship and hard work of John O’Connor- the CEO of the Agency for the first nine years of its life. He, ably supported by successive Boards, has created an organisation driven by a culture of public service in an area where we need it perhaps most of all right now. Bob Jordan has taken up the reins just over a year ago and he brings his own style to leading the Agency in the years ahead. However, he undoubtedly shares with John that integrity and drive to help deliver creative, workable and most of all deliverable solutions for the nation’s housing problems.
I believe I can say with a very high degree of confidence that The Housing Agency will continue to be a valuable resource for all stakeholders in the housing sector as we strive together to deliver on the ambitious agenda set down under “Housing for All”. I feel sure that they will continue to be at the heart of delivering under the unprecedented €20 billion investment programme. I look forward on a personal basis to continuing to develop and profit from the close working relationship between the Agency and my Department.
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