Minister Darragh O’ Brien T.D. estimates that delivery of homes this year will exceed 40,000.
A majority of the people we surveyed today believe that 60,000 homes must be delivered in Ireland every year until 2030 to meet demand. For these numbers to be delivered sustainably, our experts agree that a Whole-of-Government approach to rapid delivery of capacity in infrastructure is needed urgently.
DUBLIN 5 SEPTEMBER 2024: Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien T.D. officially opened Beauchamps Housing Conference, Accelerate 2024: What's Next? at the Dublin Royal Convention Centre.
Following the Minister’s keynote address, conference chair Fidelma McManus, Partner and Head of Housing at Beauchamps, was joined by representatives of key stakeholders in the Irish housing sector including, state agencies, local authorities, Approved Housing Bodies, funders, developers, home builders, and industry professionals to take stock and examine the optimum solutions for future housing delivery in Ireland.
To help inform the first panel discussion Fidelma and Kate English, Director & Head of Real Estate Research at Deloitte highlighted the hard facts around housing and infrastructure delivery in the context of Ireland’s population and economic growth.
Panellists, including Declan Dunne, CEO, Respond, Angela Ryan, Senior Manager in the Asset Management and Sustainability Directorate, Uisce Eireann, Paul Sheridan, Director of Main Contracting Services, Construction Industry Federation and Tom McCarty, Senior Investment Manager, Octopus Energy Generation, offered crucial insights on tackling infrastructure bottlenecks.
All agreed that more investment and co-ordinated action is required to address infrastructure deficits, not only to meet housing delivery targets over the next 5 years, but also to sustain Ireland’s economic growth.
A second panel session examined the current mix of financing for housing in Ireland and potential new sources needed to accelerate housing delivery to meet the ambitious delivery targets.
Dara Deering, CEO at Home Building Finance Ireland, Pat Farrell, CEO at Irish Institutional Property, John Keegan, Managing Director at Kennedy Wilson and Ken McCullagh, CEO at Pearl Property Managers Limited, joined Fidelma to discuss new approaches to unlocking additional funds required and what needs to happy to scale up to 50,000 homes per annum.
Commenting Minister Darragh O’Brien said, “The Beauchamps Accelerate Conference offers a valuable opportunity for us all to look ahead in terms of housing innovation and delivery. Housing for All is working, and we are getting Ireland back building, but there is no room for complacency, and we must do more. We will continue to build on the momentum which has been gained and to significantly scale up the delivery of social, affordable purchase, affordable cost rental and private homes,” he concluded.
Speaking at Accelerate 2024: What's Next?, Beauchamps partner Fidelma McManus stated: "Our Housing conference aimed to evaluate the current status of the market, draw attention to the evolving challenges around infrastructure, and outline the steps needed to expedite the development of not just homes but also enable sustainable housing delivery over the next decade. Amidst this challenge, our panellists concluded that a constant and stable environment is the key to attracting greater international investment into the market.”
The event was attended by over 400 delegates, and the conference was organised by Beauchamps, which advises on multiple large-scale mix-tenure schemes, ongoing delivery of the Croí Cónaithe (Cities) scheme, and increased construction-led forward-funded housing projects.