One year into Ireland’s new government, ambitious policy shifts aim to tackle housing shortages, unlock development, and restore investor confidence. This panel assesses progress, challenges, and urgent next steps.

Discussion Points:

• Impact of housing policy on development viability, investment, and timelines
• Effectiveness of planning reforms, infrastructure coordination, and apartment standards
• Balancing rent caps between tenant protection and attracting investment
• Affordability and the success of schemes like STAR and Help-to-Buy
• Needed policy clarity, funding, and structural reform to meet the 50,000-home target

Ireland’s rental market is under serious pressure, with rising demand, limited supply, and tightening regulation. This panel will take a practical look at how developers, investors, and policymakers can work together to strike the right balance and encourage new supply, while ensuring affordability and long-term viability. 

• PRS & Build-to-Rent: Market Growth, Demand, and the Role of Institutional Capital
• RPZs Approaching 10 Years: What Has Been Gained and What Has Been Lost?
• Investor Confidence in a Changing Regulatory Landscape: Can Incentives Offset Controls?
• How can policy and investment models integrate social and affordable housing delivery?
• Cost Pressures & Delivery Viability

With urban regeneration now central to housing and planning policy, how can we bring Ireland’s stock of vacant, underused, and obsolete buildings back into use? From stranded assets to ageing brown stock, this session explores how we can unlock the value in what already exists.

• The newly announced changes to the Vacant Homes Tax (VHT)
• Government grants and incentives for revitalising vacant and underperforming assets
• Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and Zero-Emission Building compliance: timelines, risks and regulatory implications
• Investment risk: understanding the growing impact of Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings and the “brown discount”
• Urban infill, adaptive reuse and fast-track planning strategies
• Public-private approaches to large-scale regeneration
• The role of communities and local authorities in driving vacancy and climate alignment

While finance, planning, and regulation remain key challenges, the availability and timely delivery of infrastructure is becoming an increasingly critical factor in meeting Ireland’s housing goals. From water and electricity to transport and social amenities, the pace and coordination of infrastructure delivery increasingly influences the viability and timelines of property developments. This session will explore how stakeholders can work together to better align infrastructure planning with development goals.

• Is the timing of water, waste-water, and electricity connections limiting delivery in key growth areas?
• How can infrastructure lead times be streamlined to support housing needs?
• What impact will planned transport investments have on enabling new residential and commercial zones?
• Are schools, healthcare, and amenities being planned in tandem with new housing developments?