BUDGET 2021 SETS AMBITIOUS TARGET FOR HOUSING 
With €3.1bn allocated towards housing in Budget 2021, Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien says that this year’s target to deliver 12,750 homes, is "ambitious" especially during the current lockdown, but claims that it can be achieved, and outlines the building blocks being rolled out. FIRST AILG FEMALE PRESIDENT AT THE FRONTLINE
Galway’s Cllr Mary Hoade, President of the Association of Irish Local Government, is impatient for pandemic restrictions to end so she can throw herself into achieving her policy priorities. However, the AILG’s first female president says there's plenty to focus on in the meantime, during her term of office. THE IMPACT OF INVESTMENT IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Of all the housing measures announced in Budget 2021, the one that can make the most significant long-term change is the investment in affordable housing, writes John O’Connor, Chief Executive Officer of The Housing Agency. MAYO MARKS 2020 WITH RECORD NUMBER OF AWARDS
Mayo County Council made its mark at Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards by winning the ‘Local Authority of the Year’ award for 2020, a hat-trick of category wins and was shortlisted in two other categories. UPDATES FROM CLIMATE ACTION REGIONAL OFFICES
As Climate Action Regional Offices (CAROs) continue to support local authorities in adapting to climate change, David Dodd, Regional Co-ordinator for Dublin Metropolitan CARO, highlights their policy developments and the plan of action for 2021. MEATH SETS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
With huge parallels between the actions adopted in response to Covid-19 and those which need to be adopted to embed the Sustainable Development Goals, Meath County Council has become the first local authority to set up a dedicated Climate Action and SDG Team.
DOCKLANDS DEVELOPMENT TO REGENERATE CORK CITY
Cork City Council and the Land Development Agency have set up the new Delivery Office for Cork City Docklands to promote a regeneration project of international scale and significance in Cork City. BUILDING A DIGITAL BLUEPRINT FOR DUBLIN CITY
Dublin City Council is making strides to provide a digital footprint across the capital through the use of Building Information Modelling. And over the next decade it plans to develop a fully-integrated digital twin of Dublin City. OPR REPORT LAYS OUT PLANS FOR NATIONAL RECOVERY
The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has made significant recommendations on local authority statutory plans in its first annual report, and State Planning Regulator Niall Cussen claims that proper and effective planning is needed to lay the foundations for a national recovery from the pandemic. REGIONAL SURVEY REVEALS REMOTE WORKING OPPORTUNITIES
Analysis from the three Regional Assemblies of Ireland has revealed that remote working (now the norm since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic), has the potential to open up economic and environmental opportunities for all regions across Ireland. LOW CARBON HEATING SCHEME FOR SOUTH DUBLIN
Ireland’s first publicly owned, not-for-profit energy company has been established by South Dublin County Council to provide low carbon heat to local community buildings. The Tallaght District Heating Scheme, when completed, aims to reduce CO2 emissions in the area by nearly 1,500 tonnes per year. IRELAND’S 1920 LOCAL ELECTIONS COMMEMORATED
To commemorate the 1920 Local Elections - pivotal in the history of local government in Ireland - a booklet ‘Democracy and Change: The 1920 Local Elections in Ireland’ has been published by the Local Government Archivists and Records Managers. IRISH COUNCILS REACH INNOVATION IN POLITICS FINAL
Clare, Fingal, Meath and South Dublin county councils reached the final of the Innovation in Politics Awards 2020, for projects ranging from age-friendly housing, urban rejuvenation to community arts and playground facilities.