Peter McVerry Trust organised Ireland’s first Empty Homes Conference on March 9th, 2017 in Croke Park. The conference was organised to help further the debate on empty homes, derelict sites and underused spaces. Peter McVerry Trust has led on the public campaign for action in this area since late 2014.

The conference heard from a range of Irish and international speakers on issues relating to data and information, planning and building regulations as well as practical delivery schemes. Over 100 people attended the conference from public, private and the non profit sectors with attendees caming from across Ireland and the UK.

Conference Overview

This short 3 minute video provides a snapshot of what happened on the day and features comments from some of our panelists and session chairs.

Keynote Address

The Chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Maria Bailey TD, gave the keynote address at the conference opening.

You can download the speech at the link below.

• Keynote speech from Maria Bailey TD

Conference Presentations

The full list of speakers from the Empty Homes Conference is as follows:

• John O’Connor – Housing Agency
• Lorcan Sirr – DIT
• Aoife Corcoran -Space Engagers
• Terry Sheridan – Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government
• Orla Hegarty – UCD
• John O’Hara -Dublin City Council
• Brian Friel – Peter McVerry Trust
• Dr Hilde Remoy – TU Delft
• Paul Johnston – Waterford City and Couunty Council

You can download the PowerPoint presentations at the Dropbox link below

• Download Speaker Presentations

Conference Photos

Below are a selection of photos from the Empty Homes Conference.