WILL HOUSING ACTIVATION UNIT HOLD THE KEY TO INCREASE DELIVERY? 
The Government's proposed new Strategic Housing Activation Unit could unlock a lot of development, according to Prof Michelle Norris, one of the members of the Housing Commission, and she believes that local authorities should now establish their own housing organisations to create sustained social and affordable delivery. ENTRIES REMAIN OPEN FOR IRISH PLANNING AWARDS UNTIL 30 MAY
Entries will remain open for the Irish Planning Awards 2025 until 30 May to members of the professional planning industry for any project undertaken since January 2023 or completed within the last five years, at a local, county, regional and national level. €713M IN FUNDING ROLLED OUT FOR REGIONAL AND LOCAL ROADS
This year’s investment programme of €713 million for Ireland’s regional and local
roads represents a total increase of over 8% in funding for road and safety
improvements on the interconnected regional and local road network. DUBLIN TO HOST INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL HOUSING FESTIVAL 2025
Dublin is getting set to host the 2025 edition of the International Social Housing Festival in June at the National Convention Centre. This biennial festival – an initiative of the European Federation of Public, Co-operative and Social Housing – will gather industry experts from around the world to exchange learned experiences and shared goals. DUBLIN CITY UNIVERSITY CAMPUS PILOTS DIGITAL TWIN TECHNOLOGY
Dublin City University’s campus is currently being used to trial and refine digital twin applications in a bid to improve real-time decision-making during emergencies. The pilot scheme is testing the technology before deployment across the wider Dublin City Council area, and subsequently on a national scale.
IRELAND’S GREENWAY PROJECTS ON TRACK TO RECEIVE €67M FUNDING
Total funding of €67 million has been allocated by the Government for Greenways and National Roads Active Travel infrastructure through Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to support the delivery of several Greenway projects throughout the country over the coming year. MAYNOOTH RESEARCH TEAM MAPS OUT FIRST NATIONAL CENSUS ATLAS
Local authorities, planners and policymakers will now be able to get a detailed view of economic and social trends emerging across the country due to the National Census Atlas – a new visual mapping tool, developed by the All-Island Research Observatory (AIRO) at Maynooth University in collaboration with Ireland's three Regional Assemblies.
‘PLANNING IN NUMBERS’ – A FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC REVIEW
The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has published ‘Planning in Numbers’ to provide a strategic review of key planning trends and outputs in Ireland over the last five years, and a comparison of patterns where figures are available for the 2019-2023 period.
WIND ENERGY IRELAND LAUNCHES COUNTY COLOURS DASHBOARD
Wind Energy Ireland has launched an interactive new website to provide a breakdown of wind energy generation and associated benefits across the 26 counties of the Republic. The 'County Colours Dashboard' platform shows that Kerry was the top wind energy generator during 2023, followed by Cork, Tipperary, Galway, Mayo and Donegal. EPA ALLOCATES €14.5 MILLION TO RESEARCH CLIMATE CHALLENGES
Funding of €14.5 million for 25 new research projects to address climate change, environmental challenges, the green and circular economy, human health and wellbeing will be allocated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to build essential research capacity in Ireland.