All-Ireland Summit 2024

Justin Cartwright is National Director for Northern Ireland at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), where he leads NI policy and external affairs work. Justin is a chartered member of CIH and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) from RMIT University in Melbourne, having undertaken research on acoustics in the built environment. He is a trustee of Supporting Communities and of the North of Ireland Family History Society.

David’s area has responsibility for the development and implementation of most aspects of policy in relation to the Supply of Housing in tenures other than social housing, as well as the design and implementation of a comprehensive whole system Housing Supply Strategy. Work that Housing Supply Policy is responsible for includes: • Housing Supply Strategy. • Role and regulation of the private rented sector. • Intermediate Housing. • Local Development Plans. • Homelessness. • Shared neighbourhoods under Together: Building United Communities (TBUC).

John O’Connor is widely considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and experienced people in the Irish housing sector. Known for his collaborative and partnership approach across all sectors – public, private and not-for-profit. He was recently appointed as the Chair of the Commission on Housing; which is tasked with examining ways to create a long-term sustainable and affordable housing system in Ireland.

Elly Hoult is Group Director of Assets and Sustainability at Notting Hill Genesis (NHG), focusing on compliance, sustainability, strategic asset investment and energy provision. Prior to this role, Elly led the integration process post-merger of Notting Hill and Genesis, also worked at Orbit Group and A2Dominion Group. She is a Governing Board Member at the Chartered Institute of Housing and a representative on the sounding board for the new Decent Homes Standard. Elly is a champion of diversity and sits on the National Housing Federation EDI steering group.

Niamh Randall is the Director of Strategy and Public Affairs at Respond, having joined the organisation in 2019. With over 25 years of experience in strategy, advocacy, research, and communications, she has held key roles at the Simon Communities of Ireland and Merchants Quay Ireland, focusing on housing, homelessness, and social inclusion. At Respond, Niamh leads the Strategy and Public Affairs team, where she oversees the development and implementation of strategy, public affairs and communications, while also driving continuous improvement initiatives and strategic partnerships. Her work is centred on advancing systems change and promoting evidence-based policy and practice to deliver social and affordable housing, and enhance quality of life for tenants and service users. Niamh is highly experienced in bridging the gap between policy and practice, delivering impactful programmes, and driving initiatives that make a tangible difference. She holds an MSc in Drug and Alcohol Policy from Trinity College Dublin, a Professional Diploma in Human Rights and Equality from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in collaboration with the Institute of Public Administration, and is a Certified Housing Practitioner with the Chartered Institute of Housing. Niamh is also currently pursuing an MSc in Public Policy at Dublin City University, which she is set to complete in November 2024.

Declan Gaffney is the National Technical Programme Manager of the Age Friendly Ireland, a national shared service, hosted by Meath County Council on behalf of the local government sector in Ireland. His role involves the management and oversight of a team-based framework of Age Friendly Technical Advisors across the local government sector. He supports the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in accelerating the delivery of mixed tenure age friendly housing across Ireland and therefore promoting best use of housing stock including innovative solutions to dereliction, vacancy, and rural development. Declan manages and delivers the Age Friendly Housing and Public Realm Training course which is a key instrument in building awareness and knowledge throughout industry in relation to national policy and the technical programmes required to address Ireland’s aging population.

Aoife Lawler is A Senior Executive Officer of Housing Fingal County Council. She oversees the delivery of new housing aimed at improving quality of life in the Fingal region. With a focus on sustainable housing solutions and community engagement, Lawler plays a key role in addressing housing needs and supporting local communities.

Paddy Gray is an established academic and has wide experience of academic and applied research with over 400 publications on housing related issues. A former President of the Chartered Institute of Housing he is currently on the board of Wheatley Homes Glasgow and is Chair of Wheatley Foundation. In Ireland he is Chair of Tuath Housing, Chair of iCare Housing, and a member of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) He was also a member of the recent Housing Commission. In NI he is a former Chair of Connswater Homes. In 2017 he was named the top power player in housing in the UK and in 2019 was awarded an OBE. In 2023 he was named Property Personality of the year at the Belfast Telegraph Property Awards and in 2024 received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the AICO Community Awards in Birmingham.

Catherine Murnin is an award-winning Facilitator, Coach and Founder of The Wellbeing Pathway. She brings 20 years’ experience in leadership and wellbeing roles, with a particular interest in mental health and human connections. Her health and wellbeing programmes, together with her facilitation work and keynote speaker roles have allowed her to share her experiences with a global audience. A Business graduate from Ulster University, Catherine also has a Postgraduate qualification in Mental Health, a Diploma in Coaching and Mentoring with the ILM and holds a Health Promotion Certificate from the Open University. She has undertaken a wide range of CPD in psychology, leadership, mindfulness, and women’s health, trained in ASIST and is a Mental Health First Aider. Catherine has recently become a Certified Breath, Laugh and Relax Coach. Catherine is an Associate Consultant with the Health & Social Care Leadership Centre and a mentor in Women in Business supporting others to develop their skills and confidence in personal development, leadership with a focus on mindset and wellbeing. She lives in rural Co Down with her husband, has 3 grown up children, and is author of Wisdom of Wellbeing and host of the Wisdom of Wellbeing podcast. Catherine is Curator of the first ever TEDx event in Newry, Mourne and Down Council area, bringing speakers and audiences together with a Make It Count theme to support wellbeing connections and storytelling across the places where we live, work and learn.

I am the Business Support Manager within the Homelessness and Business Excellence departments of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. A member of CIH Futures Northern Ireland since 2020, I love working in the Social Housing sector where we have a chance to create positive change, empower communities and make a meaningful impact in people’s lives. I am passionate about empowering young housing professionals to realise their potential and advance in their careers.

Wilton is an experienced property, asset and facilities professional who has been involved in the services industry for over 30 years. The last 7 of these have been in the Housing sector, firstly setting up Choice Services, the in-house direct service organisation for Choice Housing and more recently as the Asset Services Director for Choice. Prior to Choice, Wilton was the Facilities Management Director at H & J Martin and developed their Facilities Services business in to one of the largest in Ireland. In 2005 he was recognised as a Fellow of the BIFM. Wilton has extensive technical experience in providing services such as help desk, response maintenance, minor works projects, statutory compliance, specialist services eg fire and security, health & safety, cleaning, grounds maintenance and energy management. This has been to clients in government, retail, commercial, health, education and PPP sectors.

Carol is the group chief executive of the Clanmil Housing Group as well as a non-executive director of 54 North Homes, a registered housing association based in Leeds/Yorkshire and a board member of the NI Federation of Housing Associations.

Having graduated from the University of Ulster, Magee in 1991 with a B.Sc. (Hons) in Housing Management, Colm went on to complete the Henley Certificate in Management in 1992. He returned to the University of Ulster, Coleraine in 1999 where he obtained a M.Sc. in Social Administration & Policy. Colm joined Supporting Communities, a NI wide voluntary community development & tenant support organisation with a dedicated staff of 30, in 1994 and during this time he has held various positions within the organisation. Colm took up the position of Chief Executive of Supporting Communities in January 2014 since when he has been instrumental in leading the organisation and driving it forward, including; a rebranding exercise in 2015, the launch of a trading subsidiary (Empowering Communities) in 2017 and an ever increasing presence across the island of Ireland. Supporting Communities celebrates its 45th anniversary as a charity in 2024. Colm is also a Board member of the Chartered Institute of Housing NI and a member of CO3 and CIH.

Robert Burns is Chief Executive of Monaghan County Council, a role he took up in September 2023. The Council has 500 staff and serves a population of 65,000 people. Monaghan County Council has an annual revenue budget of €90 million and provides a range of services including housing, planning, environment, transportation and community development. The Council also has a significant capital investment programme that will see €373 million invested in capital projects over the next three years. Prior to Joining Monaghan County Council, Robert was Director of Housing and Community Development with Fingal County Council. There he was responsible for the management of a stock of over 6,000 social homes and the delivery of 4,500 new social and affordable homes and led on the development of number of major mixed tenure housing schemes using innovative forms of funding and delivery. Before joining Fingal in January 2022, Robert was a Director with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, with responsibility for the management and delivery of infrastructure, public realm, transportation and climate action-related projects. Robert graduated as a Civil Engineer from Queens University Belfast in 1995.

Enda Mc Guane (MBS, FSCSI, FRICS) is a former army officer and highly experienced senior manager and property professional with over 30 years’ experience across both public and private sectors. He is the Head of Asset Management for the LDA with direct responsibility for the Cost Rental portfolio as well as the strategic management of LDA’s expanding portfolio of land, sites, and estates. He is the immediate Past President of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). Enda is a dual status Chartered Surveyor practicing in the areas of Planning & Development and Property & Facilities Management, as well as a RICS, registered Red Book valuer. Enda currently sits on the Board of the SCSI as well as the Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Ireland chapter. He is a past member Galway Co Co’s Housing Strategic Policy Committee and the Chambers Ireland Sustainable Infrastructure and Planning Taskforce. In addition, Enda has also been a member of Property Industry Ireland’s Market Supply and Demand Committee as well as the CIF’s Western and Midlands Infrastructure Forum. He is a former board member of two AHB’s, COPE Homeless services and Co-Operative Housing Ireland where he chaired the property and development committee, respectively.

John Hannigan is a well-known leading voice and driver in the delivery of social and affordable housing in Ireland. As CEO of one of Ireland’s top 5 Approved Housing Bodies, Circle Voluntary Housing Association and as chair of The Housing Alliance, he strives for the industry to ‘do more’ in its contribution to ‘Housing for All’, to challenge the barriers to delivery and to be innovative in its approach to meet social and affordable housing targets, providing much needed homes to those in housing need.

Conor Curran is Head of Diversity, Inclusion and Staff Wellbeing at Queen's University Belfast - a workforce of over 4600 staff. He is a qualified employment lawyer, HR professional and DEI expert having held a number of senior roles across various sectors in Northern Ireland, including policing, justice, health and education. He started his professional career in Dublin before moving to London where he worked for city law firm Olswang, returning to Northern Ireland in 2004. Conor is married to Jo, has two teenage daughters and is a self confessed running geek. You can learn more about Conor's DEI consultancy work at curcoconsult.com

Our organisations aim and purpose is to advance education, promote health and wellbeing and challenge discrimination and racism. To showcase the rich history, traditions and cultural ways of the minority ethnic groups .Promote equality of opportunity and diversity for the public benefit through activities that foster good relations between Travellers, Roma and the communities in which they live or visit and to establish a sense of belonging in society rather than living in the shadows of society.

Experienced housing professional, former CEO and Non-Executive Chair, 20 years working independently with orgs. across UK and NI, inspiring leaders and teams for today and tomorrow, building on strengths and embracing sustainable housing.

Grainia Long is the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the strategic housing authority for Northern Ireland and one of the largest publically owned social landlords in Europe. Previously, Grainia was the Commissioner for Resilience for the city of Belfast, and co-Chaired the Belfast Climate Commission. Grainia was also the Chief Executive of the National Child Protection Charity in the Republic of Ireland, ISPCC Childline. This position followed several years working in housing, including as Chief Executive of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), and previously National Director of the CIH in Northern Ireland. She has served two terms as a member of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, was a member of the Lyons Commission on Housing Supply and Advisor to the Best Commission on the Future of Housing in Northern Ireland. With extensive experience as a Non-Executive Director, she spent six years as Senior Independent Director at Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Trust, a social housing provider in England. Grainia is currently a Board Member of the CEF (Chief Executive’s Forum), and is Chair of Business in the Community Northern Ireland (BITICNI) Environmental Leadership Team.

Mike Allen is Director of Advocacy, Communications and Research in Focus Ireland since 2009. He is a member of the European Observatory on Homelessness. He is vice-chair of the European Housing First Hub. Mike Allen was the General Secretary of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) from 1987-2000. Where he was closely involved in the campaigns that lead to the INOU and other community and voluntary bodies gaining access to social partnership. He was General Secretary of the Irish Labour Party from 2000 to 2008. He has published a number of articles and books on unemployment, homelessness and the role of social movements.

Carol is the group chief executive of the Clanmil Housing Group as well as a non-executive director of 54 North Homes, a registered housing association based in Leeds/Yorkshire and a board member of the NI Federation of Housing Associations.

John Hannigan is a well-known leading voice and driver in the delivery of social and affordable housing in Ireland. As CEO of one of Ireland’s top 5 Approved Housing Bodies, Circle Voluntary Housing Association and as chair of The Housing Alliance, he strives for the industry to ‘do more’ in its contribution to ‘Housing for All’, to challenge the barriers to delivery and to be innovative in its approach to meet social and affordable housing targets, providing much needed homes to those in housing need.