What Can We Learn From the Housing Landscape in Ireland with John Hannigan

The HIP: The Housing Industry Podcast

CEO at Circle Voluntary Housing Association, John Hannigan joins us in this episode. Circle is Ireland-based, but John has had extensive experience in the housing sector in the UK, as well, and we discover how he got ‘hooked’ on housing and reached his position.
We dive deep into the major differences between the Irish and UK housing
markets in terms of the size and number of HAs and their long-term housing plan. With about 3000 homes owned and managed, Circle is in Ireland's top 5 largest HAs. They’ve managed to retain a consistent general satisfaction rating of 94% from tenants, and John gives insights into how. Off the back of Covid, Circle went 100% agile. John shares how productivity has changed as a result of this.
We also talk in-depth about the housing crisis, or ‘housing emergency’ as John describes it, which poses the same challenges in Ireland. John gives his insight into what needs to change for us to begin reaching housing targets while continuing on the path to net zero.
John shares with us what he wants to see from the sector in the future and how we make the sector more appealing, so we can bring in much-needed talent.
In this episode, we cover:

• What got John ‘hooked’ on housing?
• The key differences and similarities between Ireland’s and the UK’s housing landscapes.
• How Circle has attained a consistent general satisfaction rating of 94%
  from it’s tenants.
• How productivity has changed for Circle since going 100% agile.
• Removing the stigma around social housing.
• Why John refers to the ‘housing emergency’ rather than the ‘housing crisis’.
• The keys to meeting housing targets.
• How do we make the sector more appealing as a career option?