The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) was established in 1982 and is the national social housing federation of nonprofi t voluntary and other national housing associations.The ICSH maintains strong links with other voluntary and statutory bodies who have an interest in social housing.
The ICSH represents approximately 270 member organisations that manage 35,000 homes and house 90,000 people including:
- families on a low income;
- older people;
- people with disabilities and;
- households experiencing homelessness.
ICSH members operate in every local authority area in the country and in over 500 communities across Ireland.
Housing Association Activity in 2019
In 2019, housing associations (also known as approved housing bodies, AHBs) delivered 4,127 homes for people on social housing waiting lists. This activity was in response to the ongoing crisis in housing supply and affordability and represents the highest ever output for the AHB sector. The Irish Council for Social Housing (ICSH) is proud to work on behalf of, and with our members, to create opportunities for greater delivery and new types of housing services by AHBs. AHB delivery is supported by Government funding and AHBs’ own resources. The sector now manages up to 40,000 homes.
- 41% of new long-term social housing units were delivered by approved housing bodies in 2019.
- Almost 50% of all new build social homes were delivered by housing associations.
- Almost 11,000 homes have been delivered by AHBs under Rebuilding Ireland to date.
- Almost 40,000 social homes are currently managed by AHBs.
- 570 new supported housing homes were built in 2019 for special need groups, for older people and people with disabilities.
- 338 long-term homeless individuals were housed and supported under Housing First by the end of 2019.
- 196 Homes under Mortgage to Rent were completed in 2019 (660 Applications have been completed to date and 1,324 are in progress).
The work of the ICSH is supported by funding from Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government through the Scheme to Support National organisations.
