Introduction
I am Professor of Social Policy at University College Dublin, Ireland.
My teaching and research interests focus on housing policy and urban regeneration, particularly on:
- the management and financing of social housing
- the regeneration of social housing estates and inner urban areas
- comparative analysis of housing provision in Europe
- the history and socio-economic implications of Irish housing policy and its relationship with the welfare state.
I am interested in recruiting PhD students who would like to research any of these topics.
I have led over 20 research project on these issues since 2000 and produced over 170 publications on the results. My latest book entitled Property, Family and the Irish Welfare State was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2016. I am also co-conveynor of the European Network for Housing Research Working Group on Comparative Housing Policy.
I also have very strong links with policy makers in Ireland. In 2011 I was appointed by an Taoiseach as an independent member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) which advises the Irish government on economic, environmental and social policy and I was appointed for a second term in 2016. In 2012 and again in 2017 I was appointed by the Minister for Housing as chair of the Housing Finance Agency (hfa.ie). The Agency raises finance on international markets which it lends on to local authorities and housing associations for the provision of housing to low income households.
In 2021 I was of one of three lead authors of a major report on affordable housing which was commissioned by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), UN Habitat and Housing Europe (which represents social housing providers in Europe). The report is titled Housing2030: Effective policies for affordable housing in the UNECE region aims to show how policymakers can improve affordable housing outcomes and support climate neutral housing provision
Expert
I am an academic and researcher with particular interest in housing of low income households. I have a very strong track record of research on the management and financing of social housing and the regeneration of social housing estates and inner urban areas. My research focuses on Ireland and Europe.
I also have significant experience of working with policy makers and social landlords on these issues. I chair the board of the Irish government agency which finances social housing and am a member of the board of the organisation which manages public land in Ireland.
Fields of expertise: Housing, Policy design and delivery, Social policy