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 .

The Summary of Social Housing Assessments 2024 brings together information provided by local authorities on households in their functional area that are qualified for social housing support but whose social housing need is not currently being met. It is a point-in-time assessment of the identified need for social housing support across the country.

Purpose of the Assessment: This is a statutory assessment to count the total number of households qualified for social housing support across the country on 4 November 2024, in order to better inform policy and plan for the delivery of the right types of housing support.

‘Net need’ or the total number of households qualified: This is the total number of households qualifying for social housing support whose social housing need is not being met. All the figures in this report are based on net need. The methodology used to produce these figures is outlined on pages 16-18.

Criteria: Households must be qualified for social housing support. Households currently living in local authority rented or Approved Housing Body (AHB) accommodation, or accommodation provided under the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP), the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) or the Social Housing Capital Expenditure Programme (SHCEP) or any household on a transfer list, are not included in the total number.

From 1 January 2023, an increase of €5,000 applied to all social housing income thresholds. These thresholds are now €40,000, €35,000 and €30,000 for Bands 1, 2 and 3 respectively (see gov - Social Housing Support: Table of Income Limits (www.gov.ie)- Opens in new window for full list of income thresholds by band and local authority).

Read the full report here - Summary of Social Housing Assessments 2024

When complete, Cherrywood in south Dublin will be the largest Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) in the history of the State with some 10,500 new homes accommodating a population of around 26,000 people.

As the largest undeveloped landbank in the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council (DLRCC) area, and the largest of all 11 SDZ projects in Ireland, Cherrywood SDZ presents unique challenges, particularly in coordinating significant infrastructure across multiple landowners.

A new Housing Insights paper by The Housing Agency examines the progressive steps taken by DLRCC and its key stakeholders to ensure that infrastructure is plan-led, phased and strategically provided to support Cherrywood's development.

It shows how physical infrastructure is key to unlocking land for development, including water and drainage facilities, transport infrastructure, utilities and waste management. Social infrastructure - such as parks, schools and other shared amenities - can then be provided in tandem with the physical infrastructure. Both types of infrastructure are key to realising the concept of a "10-minute neighbourhood".

Read the full report here - Housing Insights Issue 5 - Supporting Sustainable Communities: The Successful Provision of Infrastructure in Cherrywood.

Access all our publications here - Publications | The Housing Agency

The Property Services Regulatory Authority and The Housing Agency will hold a lunchtime live webinar to provide insights into the importance of the Letter of Engagement (or contract) between owners’ management companies (OMCs) and licensed property management agents. 

Maeve Hogan, Chief Executive Officer of the PSRA, will provide an overview of:

• Relevant legislation
• Main features of the Letter of Engagement, including consumer protections
• Interaction with Minimum Standards for licensed agents
• Frequently arising matters / queries
• Sources of further guidance and information

The webinar will be of interest to people involved with OMCs and multi-unit developments, including directors of OMCs, licensed property management professionals, residents, Local Authorities, and Approved Housing Bodies.

The hour-long webinar will take place at 12.30pm on Tuesday 20 May 2025.

Registration for this free event is required via this Zoom Link 

Upon registration a confirmation email will issue with information about how to join the webinar.

Questions for the webinar Q&A may be emailed in advance before 12pm on Friday 16 May 2025 to MUD@housingagency.ie.

The session will be recorded for future use.

Places are limited to 1,000 attendees on a first-come first-served basis.

By registering for this webinar, you consent for the purposes of event management to the processing by The Housing Agency and the PSRA of your personal data (name and email address).

Disclaimer: 

Information provided during the webinar is general in nature.  It should not be considered to amount to legal advice, and no reliance should be placed on it.  Neither The Housing Agency nor the Property Services Regulatory Authority may be held responsible for actions or failure to act on foot of the information provided.  Legal or other professional advice should be sought on individual circumstances.

STATEMENT 

Thursday, 13th February, 2025 

Important update on Interim Remediation Scheme for fire safety defects in apartments and duplexes

The Housing Agency has become aware that the way the Interim Remediation Scheme (IRS) for fire safety defects in apartments and duplexes is currently operating is not fully compliant with national and EU procurement law. Addressing this issue to ensure that the scheme is fully compliant with procurement rules is essential. Unfortunately, this is likely to cause the IRS process to last some months longer than previously expected. 

The IRS process will continue once these procurement issues are resolved. It is important to note that the IRS will continue to operate as normal in all other respects including the scope of works included and the funding levels being provided. There are no changes in any other area other than procurement. The Government as set out in the recent Programme for Government, remains fully committed to helping affected homeowners.

The Housing Agency received legal advice on the current tendering processes associated with the scheme and it was confirmed that the funding provided by the Agency to Owners’ Management Companies (OMCs) requires compliance with public procurement law. This is the case even though the OMC, a private company, will be the legal entity entering into contracts with the Competent Professionals and Competent Builders.

In light of this legal advice, The Housing Agency is now in the process of revising the IRS to ensure it aligns with EU and national public procurement requirements. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with other state agencies, including the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Office of Government Procurement.

Given the complexity of the matter and the number of actions required, it is anticipated that it will take some months to amend the process.

OMCs that have applied to the scheme have been advised of the situation and will be updated as soon as details of the revised process are finalised. 

The procurement issue came to light as part of an ongoing Pathfinder process managed by the Housing Agency as part of the wider IRS to identify issues that might need to be addressed in advance of the launch of the full statutory Scheme later this year. 

To qualify for the IRS, apartments and duplexes must have fire safety defects and must have been built between 1991 and 2013. The scheme provides for the funding of eligible emergency fire safety defect works in order to provide an acceptable level of fire safety in buildings, pending the completion of the full remedial works. Full remedial works, which will include all necessary fire safety measures as well as those related to water ingress and structural damage, will be funded under the statutory scheme to be legislated for.

The IRS only applies if the defects were caused by defective design, workmanship or materials that breached the building regulations that applied when the property was built.

A total of 195 applications, covering 18,670 apartments and duplexes, have been made under the IRS. The final cost of the overall Scheme is estimated at more than €2 billion and this will help to remediate up to 100,000 affected apartments across the country. 

Read the Housing Agency February 2025 Stakeholder Newsletter - February 2025 Stakeholder Newsletter

This month we shine a spotlight on our Research Support Programme which funds research into topical housing issues that have the potential to impact housing policy and practice. We take a look at the Property Optimisation Unit, a team within the Agency that provides advice and support to local authorities addressing vacancy within their areas. This edition also contains more information about our Housing Practitioners’ Conference, our new four-part webinar series on community-led housing, and much more.

Subscribe to our newsletter here - https://tinyurl.com/yey84tef

The Housing Agency and the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) will host the 2025 Housing Practitioners’ Conference, taking place in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, Co Westmeath on Thursday, 10th April and Friday 11th April (half day). 

The conference will involve expert speakers and workshops. The conference brochure is available to view here - Conference Brochure

The workshop brochure is available here - Workshop Brochure

The conference is aimed at housing practitioners including local authority staff, approved housing bodies and Government officials. 

To register for the conference please visit the IPA website here - Housing Practitioners' Conference 2025 | Registration 

The Housing Agency has put together a reference document with information for housing practitioners, academics and students. Read the 2024 Key Irish Housing Publications Report here - 2024 Key Irish Housing Publications

It lists, by month, Irish housing papers, publications, and reports with links to sources from 2024. This is the second instalment of this report.

We hope it will be a useful resource for the sector.

To find out more click here - 2024 Key Irish Housing Publications | The Housing Agency. 

To view the Key Irish Housing Publications of 2023 please click here - 2023 Key Irish Housing Publications 

Join our webinar series on community-led housing!

Community-led housing encompasses a wide range of approaches to housing, but they all share a common goal – to meet a local housing need via collaboration, empowerment and mutual support.

Our webinar series aims to raise awareness of community-led housing as a new form of affordable housing in Ireland, to showcase examples of it in other countries and reflect on the future of community-led housing in Ireland.

There will be four webinars in our series on the following topics:

1. Introducing community-led housing
2. Community-led housing as affordable housing
3. Community-led housing for age friendly living
4. State support for community-led housing

You can register for the webinars individually at the links below. 

• Introducing Community-led Housing Tickets, Wed, Feb 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
• Community-Led Housing as Affordable Housing Tickets, Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
• Community-Led Housing for Age-Friendly Living Tickets, Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
• State Support for Community-Led Housing Tickets, Wed, Mar 26, 2025 at 11:30 AM | Eventbrite

• To view the slides and webinar recording for session one, Introducing Community-Led Housing, click here: 
  • Slide deck, 

  • webinar recording. 

     

• To view the slides and webinar recording for session two, Community-Led Housing as Affordable Housing, click here: 
  • Slide deck, 

  • Webinar recording. 

     

• To view the slides and webinar recording for session three, Community-Led Housing for Age Friendly Housing, click here:
  • Slide deck,

  • Webinar recording.

     

• To view the slides and webinar recording for session four, State Support for Community Led Housing, click here: 
  • Slide deck,
  • Webinar recording.