The CEO of Peter McVerry Trust, Pat Doyle, has been appointed to the Housing Commission to represent our clients, Peter McVerry Trust and the wider community. The Commission met for the first time today with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, TD.

The establishment of the Commission fulfils commitments made in the Programme for Government and in Housing for All, the Government’s national plan on housing to 2030. It is the first of its kind in 21 years.

The Commission will examine long-term housing policy, beyond 2030, and report to Government on how to build on policy changes committed to under Housing for All.

The Commission will be tasked with examining and reporting on:

• maintaining a sustainable housing supply and providing balance and choice of tenures, having regard to social, environmental and economic objectives
• the cost and quality of housing, the drivers of cost (including, inter alia, embodied carbon compliance), and how costs may be addressed and compliance achieved in the longer term
• the capacity of the construction sector to meet housing supply requirements
• the affordability of private rental accommodation
• the affordability of house purchasing for first-time buyers, examining in particular, measures that would complement or enhance the recently introduced affordable housing measures (including new models of affordable housing)
• rural housing and how it can be facilitated in a socially and environmentally sustainable way and allows for development of appropriate one-off housing
• the need for regulation of social housing
• the optimum role of Approved Housing Bodies in housing provision, including their role regarding the needs of vulnerable groups
• the referendum on housing

Attending the first meeting today, Minister O’Brien said:

“The Government recognises the need for a long-term approach to housing policy, an enduring approach that transcends changes of government. We need to build consensus on how we address our housing issues. That is why, as promised under Housing for All and the Programme for Government, we’ve established a Housing Commission, which will now begin to examine long-term housing policy issues.

“The Commission will look at important issues like housing tenure, cost, quality and supply, the cost of private rental accommodation and social housing. I look forward to receiving its work and ensuring it informs long-term housing policy. I want to thank the members for agreeing to be members and want to wish the commission well with its work.”