How can Ireland create a more affordable, sustainable & equitable housing system?

• 10 September 2015
• Types: Press Releases

Press Release:

Dublin, Thursday, 10th September, 2015 — How can Ireland create a more affordable, sustainable and equitable housing system? This is the question being debated today at a conference organised by the National Economic & Social Council (NESC) in Croke Park. The conference draws together the four housing policy reports published by NESC in the past year.

Ireland’s housing system is under enormous pressure. With rising prices and lack of supply in large urban areas, the impact is being felt by individuals and families, and is now becoming a threat to Ireland’s competitiveness and job creation. Today a range of international and national speakers (including Stefan Gerlach, Deputy Governer of the Central Bank; Daniel McLaughlin, Chief Executive of South Dublin County Council; and Bob Jordan, Chief Executive of Threshold) will discuss the different problems facing policymakers as they try to address this pressure. For example:

• How can finance be found to fund the development of social housing, without adding to Government debt?
• What mechanisms can we use to improve the supply of land and housing?
• What is the role of regulation in ensuring more secure occupancy for those living in the private rental sector?

Dr Rory O’Donnell, Director of NESC, today said – we have important problems to address in Ireland’s housing policy. A central question is how Ireland proposes to achieve the central goal of housing affordability and adequate housing supply—whether in the rental sector, social housing or home-ownership.

Would co-ordination help address the problems we are facing? Should the state use its resources and capabilities to lead the resumption of construction and supply, demonstrating ways of achieving affordable, mixed income, housing?

The conference will build on NESC’s work on housing policy, with four reports on this published in the last year, on social housing, the private rental sector, and addressing housing supply problems.

For further information:

Dr. Anne Marie McGauran, Policy Analyst, NESC
E-mail: am.mcgauran@nesc.ie 
Phone: 01-8146365
Mobile: 086-8152129