SOUTH DUBLIN SCOOPS ‘LOCAL AUTHORITY OF THE YEAR’ AWARD FOR 2025 
South Dublin County Council was named ‘Local Authority of the Year’, in addition to taking home top honours in two categories - ‘Sustainable Development and Biodiversity’ and Communications & Marketing’ - at the 22nd Chambers Ireland Excellence in Local Government Awards ceremony on 27 November 2025 in Dublin. GOVERNMENT’S HOUSING PLAN TO DELIVER 300,000 NEW HOMES BY 2030
The Government’s new housing plan, ‘Delivering Homes, Building Communities: An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness’ aims to deliver 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030, including 90,000 starter homes, 72,000 social homes in addition to an increased budget for the Land Development Agency. INCREASED DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN IRISH CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Ireland’s construction industry continues to make great strides in digital transformation, according to results from the 2024 Build Digital annual survey. Now construction and built environment professionals have an opportunity to give their feedback by participating in the 2025 annual survey. LOCAL AUTHORITIES TAP INTO CYBERSECURITY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMME
Local authorities are boosting their cyber-security systems, following the official launch of
Ireland’s first tailored IT apprenticeship programme for county and city councils. Ten local
authorities have joined the initiative to date, which aims to equip staff with the skills and
expertise to protect local government networks and data from cyber-attacks. OVER 7,300 SOCIAL HOMES RETROFITTED SINCE 2022 – CLIMATE REPORT
Ireland’s local authorities have retrofitted more than 7,300 social homes since 2022, saving enough energy to power more than 6,000 households annually, according to the findings of a local government climate action report, which has outlined the key responses to climate change by the country’s 31 local authorities.
COALITION CALLS FOR URGENT ACTION ON HOUSING VACANCY-DERELICTION
Dedicated vacancy teams in local authorities, expanded reuse grants and a wider suite of tax measures are required to tackle Ireland’s vacancy crisis and deliver much-needed homes, according to recommendations recently launched by the Vacant to Vibrant Building Alliance (VVBA), a cross-sector coalition of business, civic and environmental leaders.