It is with much sadness this week that we mark the sudden death of Eric Young, our colleague, friend and Head of Human Resources. Eric supported our organisation through huge growth and change. He was also involved extensively in volunteer work outside Respond including, youth services, school boards, the sea scouts and providing bereavement counselling. Most of all we remember Eric’s kindness and his love of a good joke. He will be dearly missed.

Our deepest sympathies go to Eric’s family and loved ones.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Respond’s vision, is that ‘every family and individual in Ireland will have high quality housing as part of a vibrant and caring community’. Our guiding principles; a human right to housing and; social justice, underpin our approach to delivering this vision. In practice, this means we provide homes and family and community programmes that support people to succeed, both as individuals and as part of a wider community. Respond, is an Approved Housing Body (AHB) and service provider and works all around Ireland. Founded in 1982, the organisation works with approximately 14,100 tenants living in over 6,400 homes across the 26 counties.

We now wish to undertake an independent evaluation, to deepen our understanding and knowledge about the services we deliver. This will progress Respond’s objective of becoming a learning organisation through assessment, evaluation, reflection, learning and implementation. It will build on existing expertise, experience and knowledge and will involve collaboration within and across teams. It will draw on existing internal research work and will be complementary to continuous change programmes already in place.

Our current services include Early Childhood Care and School Age Care, Family Support, Day Care Services for Older People, Refugee Resettlement Services, and Homeless Services for Families. The final outputs will include:

• A detailed report of the evaluation process and findings
• A roadmap on how to improve Respond’s services
• A good practice guide on developing and enhancing community based services. It is a requirement that this guide is written to a publishable standard.

Due to the wide scope of the services to be evaluated and outputs required, we welcome collaborations and partnerships that will bring together the necessary disciplines and expertise.

The total budget for this research is €60,000.

The deadline for receiving submissions is: 2pm, 24^th June 2022

Full details on the requirements of the tender and the process for submitting proposals are contained in the tender document that can be found at the link below.

If you would like any further information, please contact Reyhana Cushnan, Policy Manager by email to: reyhana.cushnan@respond.ie.

Find out more HERE.

Respond and Tuath Housing announced as winner at the National Property Awards 2022

Approved Housing Bodies Respond and Tuath have said they are delighted to be announced as the winners of Social Housing Development of the Year Property at the National Property Awards 2022. The award is for ‘Woodside’, a development on the Enniskerry Road (Dublin) of purpose built cost rental and social housing homes, delivered in partnership by Respond and Tuath Housing.

The scheme includes Ireland’s first purpose built cost rental homes consisting of 155 homes (50 cost rental and 105 social housing). The development was delivered by Respond and Tuath in partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency.

The homes are a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties. All of the 50 Cost Rental homes are 2-bedroom apartments. The Cost Rental apartments are let at a monthly rent of €1,200, a significant reduction when compared to market rents for 2-bedroom apartments in this location. The rent charged to tenants will cover the cost of delivering, managing and maintaining these homes and will not be driven by market movements.

The development offers its tenants a community facility along with lots of green spaces. The site is located near to a wide range of amenities, public facilities, schools, health services, local community and sports groups.

Niamh Randall, Spokesperson for Respond said:

“Respond are delighted to have won this award with our partners in Tuath Housing. ‘Woodside’ on the Enniskerry Road is a unique collaboration between Respond and Tuath Housing, providing a new type of housing tenure in addition to social housing, private renting and private purchase. We are so pleased to have been able to welcome tenants to their new homes over the past few weeks and we hope they will be very happy living there. Our Housing team will be there to support them as they move into their new lifetime homes. This would not have been possible without the support and partnership of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency. We must also pay tribute to the excellent work of Duggan Brothers who were the contractors on site. We very much look forward to working with our partners to deliver further cost rental and social homes around the country to those who need them.”

Daragh O’Sullivan, Chairman of Tuath Housing commented;

“We are thrilled to have won the award for best Social Housing Development of the Year, along with our partners Respond, for this ground-breaking development of Ireland’s first purpose-built cost rental scheme combined with 105 high quality social homes at Woodside , Enniskerry Rd. We were delighted to have worked closely on the delivery of these homes with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. Huge credit must also go to Duggan Brothers for delivering the highest standard of homes at Woodside. The rent paid by the new tenants will cover the cost of providing, managing and maintaining the homes for decades to come, and not a cent more. This flagship project offers the new tenants a much more affordable, long-term and secure form of rental tenure with the added benefit that their rent will not be driven by future price hikes in the private rental market. We look forward to supporting the new tenants at Woodside, engaging and creating a sustainable community. We are pleased to be working on another six cost rental schemes and we look forward to allocating 250 properties throughout 2022 and 2023”.

Cost rental in a new tenure option in Ireland offering more affordability in the private rental sector  

The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien T.D. opened Ireland’s first purpose build cost rental homes today. The scheme of 155 homes (50 cost rental and 105 social housing) is delivered by Respond and Tuath Approved Housing Bodies in partnership with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency.

‘Woodside’ in Stepaside (Dublin) is a unique development. The homes will be managed by Respond and Tuath Housing.  The homes are a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties. All of the 50 Cost Rental homes are 2-bedroom apartments. The Cost Rental apartments will be let at a monthly rent of €1,200, a significant reduction when compared to market rents for 2-bedroom apartments in this location. The rent charged to tenants will cover the cost of delivering, managing and maintaining these homes and will not be driven by market movements.

Niamh Randall, Spokeperson for Respond said:

“Respond are delighted to be involved in such a unique collaboration, bringing these 50 Cost Rental Homes to people who have been caught in an impossible situation where they do not qualify for social housing yet a mortgage is out of their reach. Some tenants have been struggling to pay high rents in the Private Rental Sector. Cost rental is a new departure in the delivery of housing in Ireland, providing a new type of housing tenure in addition to social housing, private renting and private purchase. Respond have been advocating for some time for a sustainable and replicable cost rental model.  We very much look forward to working with our partners to deliver additional cost rental homes around the country to those who are eligible in areas where they are needed.”

Daragh O’Sullivan, Chairman of Tuath Housing commented:

“Tuath are proud to partner with Respond on this ground-breaking development of Ireland’s first purpose-built cost rental scheme combined with 105 high quality homes for social rent in beautiful surroundings. We were also delighted to have worked closely on the delivery of these homes with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency and the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. The rent paid by tenants will cover the cost of providing, managing and maintaining the homes for decades to come, and not a cent more. This flagship project offers moderate income households a much more affordable, long-term and secure form of rental tenure with the added benefit that their rent will not be driven by future price hikes in the private rental market. We are pleased to be working on another six cost rental schemes and we look forward to allocating 250 properties throughout 2022 and 2023”.

Commenting Minister O’Brien said, “It’s my absolute pleasure to officially open Woodside here on the Enniskerry Road in Stepaside which consists of 105 social homes and 50 cost rental homes which will be managed and maintained by both Tuath and Respond Housing Associations. The Government’s Housing for All plan sets us on a pathway to delivering 300,000 new homes by the end of 2030. 90,000 of these will be social homes and 18,000 of these will be Cost Rental homes. Development’s such as this one which has been championed by Tuath and Respond with the support of my Department and South Dublin County Council are exactly what the Government want to, and will, deliver at scale. I want to commend everyone who played their role in bringing this project to fruition and wish all of the people who will make their home here the very best of luck.”

CEO of the Housing Agency Bob Jordan:

“We warmly welcome the official opening of the Woodside Development at Enniskerry Road, which will provide 155 much needed social and cost rental homes. The Housing Agency is playing a key role in the national rollout of cost rental homes, and we were pleased to transfer land to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for this first cost rental development on public land in Ireland. The Housing Agency has worked closely with the local authority as well as with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Tuath, Respond, and the Housing Finance Agency in delivering this project. We look forward to working together on future developments and we wish the tenants of Enniskerry Road many happy years in their new homes.”

CEO of the Housing Finance Agency, Barry O’Leary:

‘The HFA is delighted to support Respond and Tuath with this major new mixed use development on the Enniskerry Road which will provide a combination of 155 social and affordable cost rental homes for families in and around Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. We remain committed to supporting the strong delivery of social and affordable homes across the country and will continue to provide competitively priced long term fixed rate finance to Respond, Tuath and others in the sector.’

Cathaoirleach Lettie McCarthy:“I am delighted to be here to open the first purpose built cost rental housing scheme in Ireland. This development will provide much needed housing to the people of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and it is wonderful to see a development which will provide security of tenure to its residents. I look forward to seeing similar schemes in the future.”

Our Respond Customer Service Centre, based at our Head Office in Waterford, will have limited operating hours over the upcoming holidays.

Easter Closure:
Thursday the 14th of April at 2pm and will reopen on Wednesday the 20th of April at 8:30am

Regular operating hours:

08:30 – 18:00 Monday to Thursday and 08:30 – 17:00 on Friday.

PH: 051 840200 alternatively, email info@respond.ie

At Respond, we believe in placing Tenants at the centre of our work. We’re asking our Tenants to get involved.

Some of our Tenants have developed a survey for all tenants which is currently being printed and posted out.

We’re asking all of our tenants to complete and return the survey in the pre-paid envelope provided.

Thank you.

Respond welcome commitment in Budget 2022 to deliver social and cost rental homes

Adding to the national housing stock is vital to these commitments

12^th October 2021: Respond, an Approved Housing Body and service provider, welcomed today’s Budget 2022 measures addressing housing and Early Years and School Age Care. The organisation said it is positive to see the Government commitment to a multi annual capital investment budget under Housing for All, the Government’s new housing strategy launched on September 2021.

Housing 

Niamh Randall, Head of Advocacy and Communications, reacting to initial announcements, welcomed the overall housing package with investment of €6bn to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with 2.5bn of this being capital funding for housing alone.

“Respond welcome the commitment to deliver more homes; specifically more social and cost rental homes.  We are keen to continue playing our part in delivering social and cost rental homes for individual and families who urgently need them, working with our partners in the Department of Housing, the Housing Finance Agency and Local Authorities.  It is very welcome to see the focus on new builds, adding to existing housing stock, which is a key objective for Respond. Respond currently have 1,602 in construction around the country. We look forward to more details and hope for a defined capital budget on a multiannual basis to facilitate a sustained delivery programme by Approved Housing Bodies like Respond.”

“The inclusion of the cost rental measures is a significant development that offers an alternative rental option, allowing for greater housing affordability and choice. This affordable rental option provides for people who do not qualify for social housing but may not be able to afford to purchase their own home. Some of these people are struggling to keep a roof over their heads in the private rental sector so the cost rental measures will make a real difference. We have been advocating for years for a sustainable and replicable model to deliver affordable rental homes, which we believe could be transformative. We are delighted to be involved in four of the pilot cost rental schemes in the state, including the first purpose built cost rental homes in the State at Enniskerry Road, Dublin and look forward to further implementation of this measure.”

“We understand a five year timeline has been committed to for the phasing out of private sector leasing. This should be kept under review with the option to accelerate the timeline if it continues to add to the cost of land and construction. It is a long and strongly held view of Respond that private sector leasing is not value for money for the state and it does not provide tenants with lifetime homes.”

“The commitment to a progressive national retrofitting programme is welcome and will allow for upgrades of older housing stock. We look forward to more detail on these announcements and implications for Approved Housing Bodies.”

“We also look forward to hearing more details about the Mica redress scheme. It is vital that Approved Housing Bodies are included in any such scheme.”

Early Years and School Age Care

Niamh Randall, Head of Advocacy and Communications said the reforms announced for the childcare sector were also welcome.

“As the provider of 17 Early Years and School Aged Care services, Respond welcome the focus on the sector and the recognition that it needs reform to ensure that there are more options for parents, community service providers and a more viable career path for people working within the sector.”

Contact: Helen McCormack, Communications Manager, Respond, 087 104 7793

About Respond

Respond, an Approved Housing Body and service provider, has been working all around Ireland for 39 years. Our vision is that every family and individual in Ireland will have high‐quality housing as part of a vibrant and caring community. Housing and decent accommodation, in the areas where people want to live, are central to improving people’s lives and enhancing the health and well‐being of society.

Approximately 12,065 tenants live in 4,834 homes across the 26 counties that we either own or manage; of these, there are 4,580 Respond social housing tenancies. Respond also provide a range of services for families and individuals within our communities. This includes emergency accommodation with 24/7 support for families who are homeless in six Family Homeless Services, three Day Care Services for Older People, 17 Early Childhood Care and Education, Family Support and Refugee Resettlement services. Our aim is to provide person centred services to support people to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.

.About Approved Housing Bodies

Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are not-for-profit organisations that have a social purpose to provide for people’s housing needs by working in close co-operation with the Government, local authorities and relevant agencies.

Ennsikerry Road Pathfinder Project

The Enniskerry Road Pathfinder Project provides for 155 social and affordable homes which are being delivered by Respond and Tuath Housing Associations in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on land provided by the Housing Agency under the Land Aggregation Scheme. This first Cost Rental pilot project is the result of an innovative collaboration between Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Respond and Tuath Housing Associations. Located at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin 18 the site is near to a wide range of amenities, public facilities, schools, health services, local community and sports groups. Enniskerry Road provides access to the LUAS Green Line, the 47 bus route, and the M50 motorway.

The project includes 50 Cost Rental homes and 105 social homes to be apportioned between Respond (78 homes including 25 Cost Rental) and Tuath (77 homes including 25 Cost Rental). The homes will be a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties. All of the 50 Cost Rental homes will be 2-bedroom apartments.

The Approved Housing Body is pleased to be selected as one of the providers of the 390 homes in Dublin and Cork

Respond, Approved Housing Body (AHB) and service provider, said they are very pleased to be selected for participation in the Cost Rental Equity Loan (CREL) Scheme. They are also involved in delivering the 50 cost-rental homes on Enniskerry Road as part of the Cost Rental Pathways project which is currently under construction.

The organisation said this announcement represents a new departure in the delivery of housing in Ireland, providing a new type of housing tenure in addition to social housing, private renting and private purchase. The Cost Rental Equity Loan Facility (CRELF) allows AHBs to borrow up to 30% of the cost of cost rental homes from the State. Budget 2021 is the first time the Irish Government has introduced a funding scheme to finance the provision of cost rental homes.

Niamh Randall, Spokesperson for Respond said that the organisation was delighted to be involved in the scheme.

‘We look forward very much to working with our partners in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Housing Finance Agency, the Housing Agency and Local Authorities to provide cost rental homes for families and individuals, ensuring that people can have access to safe, secure and permanent homes. Respond have been building and managing social housing for over 38 years and we currently have 1,324 homes in construction on-site around the country. We have been involved in building the first Cost Rental Pathfinder Project with our partners on Enniskerry Road which includes 50 cost rental and 105 homes on the same site (see Editors Notes). This experience and expertise in building and managing housing developments at scale gives us confidence in providing some of the first cost rental housing in Ireland. We look forward to handing over keys to new tenants.’

Niamh Randall, Spokesperson for Respond, said that delivering cost rental homes was a priority for the organisation.

‘For some time Respond have been advocating to have this gap addressed to provide housing for those who don’t qualify for social housing, won’t be able to afford a mortgages and yet cannot afford market rents. We have called for a sustainable and replicable model and we very much welcome Minister Darragh O’Brien’s announcement today.’

Contact: Helen McCormack, Communications Manager, Respond, 087 104 7793

Editors Notes

About Respond

Respond, a not‐for‐profit housing association, has been working all around Ireland for over 38 years. Our vision is that every family and individual in Ireland will have high‐quality housing as part of a vibrant and caring community. We firmly believe that housing and decent accommodation, in the areas where people want to live, are central to improving people’s lives and enhancing the health and well‐being of society. Approximately 10,378 tenants live in 4,520 homes across the 26 counties that we either own or manage, of these there are 4,250 Respond social tenancies.

We provide emergency accommodation with support for families who are homeless in six Family Homeless Services where our goal is to support families to move into secure homes as quickly as possible leaving homelessness behind. We provide wraparound support in relation to access to housing, mental and physical health services, family or parenting support and a range of other issues. We also continue to work with families once they have moved on to ensure the sustainability of these exits. In addition to housing and related work we also provide Day Care Services for Older People, Early Childhood Care and Education, Family Support and Refugee Resettlement Services.

About Approved Housing Bodies

Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are not-for-profit organisations that have a social purpose to provide for people’s housing needs by working in close co-operation with the Government, local authorities and relevant agencies.

Enniskerry Road

The Enniskerry Road Pathfinder Project provides for the construction of 155 social and affordable homes which are being delivered by Respond and Tuath Housing Associations in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on land provided by the Housing Agency under the Land Aggregation Scheme.

This first Cost Rental pilot project under Rebuilding Ireland is the result of an innovative collaboration between Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the Housing Agency, the Housing Finance Agency, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Respond and Tuath Housing Associations.

Located at Enniskerry Road, Stepaside, Dublin 18 the site is near to a wide range of amenities, public facilities, schools, health services, local community and sports groups. Enniskerry Road provides access to the LUAS Green Line, the 47 bus route, and the M50 motorway.

The project includes 50 Cost Rental homes and 105 social homes to be apportioned between Respond (78 homes including 25 Cost Rental) and Tuath (77 homes including 25 Cost Rental). The homes will be a mix of 1, 2 and 3 bedroom properties. All of the 50 Cost Rental homes will be 2-bedroom apart.

09^th November 2020: Respond, an Approved Housing Body and service provider said today that they are delighted to be working with the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) to develop a brain health training programme for their staff who provide services in housing, family homeless services, daycare for older people, refugee resettlement and family support.

As part of an ongoing collaboration relating to the intersection of brain health and housing, Respond are working with the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) to develop and pilot a brain health training program for their staff. The program will enhance awareness and understanding of the importance of brain health; how threats to brain health can affect a person’s behaviour and interactions, the best practices to reduce and deal with threats to brain health, and how all stakeholders together can best cultivate their own brain health and that of the larger community.

This pilot brain training program will begin today on Monday the 9th of November 2020 and run until April. It is hoped that this pilot will inform other training initiatives.

Niamh Randall, National Spokesperson said Respond are excited to start their learning journey with GBHI.

“We see the importance of brain health in our work each and every day. Building homes so people have the security they need to put down roots within a thriving community is an important part of what we do. However, the journey doesn’t stop once the homes are built; it continues when we hand over the keys to our tenants and they embark upon this new chapter in their new homes. This training will help our staff teams build understanding of the importance of brain health and also to learn best practice approaches and techniques when working to support people to reach their full potential.”

Brian Lawlor, Deputy Director of GBHI said:

“We want to promote the concept of brain health and housing and raise awareness of the importance of a secure home and supported environment to everyone’s brain health and wellbeing. Housing is much more than a basic need; the right home environment can help grow brain connections and allow people to flourish in their communities.”

Contact: Helen McCormack, Communications Manager, Respond, 087 104 7793

Editors Notes

About Respond

Respond, a not‐for‐profit housing association, has been working all around Ireland for over 38 years. Our vision is that every family and individual in Ireland will have high‐quality housing as part of a vibrant and caring community. We firmly believe that housing and decent accommodation, in the areas where people want to live, are central to improving people’s lives and enhancing the health and well‐being of society. Approximately 10,378 tenants live in 4,520 homes across the 26 counties that we either own or manage, of these there are 4,250 Respond social tenancies.

We provide emergency accommodation with support for families who are homeless in six Family Homeless Services where our goal is to support families to move into secure homes as quickly as possible leaving homelessness behind. We provide wraparound support in relation to access to housing, mental and physical health services, family or parenting support and a range of other issues. We also continue to work with families once they have moved on to ensure the sustainability of these exits. In addition to housing and related work we also provide Day Care Services for Older People, Early Childhood Care and Education, Family Support and Refugee Resettlement Services.

Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs) are not-for-profit organisations that have a social purpose to provide for people’s housing needs by working in close co-operation with the Government, local authorities and relevant agencies.

Visit Respond.ie or find them on Twitter @Respondhousing

Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI)

The Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI) is a leader in the global community dedicated to protecting the world’s aging populations from threats to brain health. GBHI works to reduce the scale and impact of dementia around the world by training and connecting the next generation of leaders in brain health through the Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health program; by collaborating in expanding preventions and interventions; and by sharing knowledge and engaging in advocacy.

The Atlantic Fellows for Equity in Brain Health program, based at GBHI, provides innovative training, networking and support to emerging leaders who are focused on bringing transformative change to improve brain health and reduce the impact of dementia worldwide. It is one of seven Atlantic Fellows programs to advance fairer, healthier and more inclusive societies.

GBHI is based at the University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin. Visit http://www.gbhi.org or find them on Twitter @GBHI_Fellows.