Northern Ireland Housing Conference 2024

Gordon Lyons MLA was appointed as the Minister for Communities on 3rd February 2024. Minister Lyons, has been an MLA for East Antrim since 2015. He has previously served as a Junior Minister in 2020, the DAERA Minister during the temporary stepping down of Edwin Poots from the role and Minister for the Economy from 2021 to 2022.

Justin Cartwright is National Director for Northern Ireland at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), where he leads policy and external affairs. Justin was Editor of Housing Ireland – the journal for Irish housing professionals – from 2014 to 2018. He is a chartered member of CIH, a member of the Chartered Management Institute and holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Honours) from RMIT University in Melbourne, having undertaken research on acoustics in the built environment. Justin is Chair of Belfast City Centre Management Company Ltd and a trustee of Supporting Communities.

Robert Clements is the Head of Sustainable Development for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and leads on the Housing Executive’s Sustainable Development Strategy. He also manages the Home Energy Conservation Authority statutory functions for Northern Ireland. He is currently leading a series of EU and research funded projects with an emphasis on innovative pilots incorporating residential decarbonised solutions with improved householder education and empowerment. Robert has worked in social housing for over 20 years and has extensive experience in residential refurbishment and development with his previous roles in the private and housing association sector. His focus is residential energy efficiency, decarbonisation and mitigating fuel poverty through a just transition.

Professor Paddy Gray OBE is Professor Emeritus of Housing at Ulster University. He has over 300 publications in housing. In 2010 he was appointed the first and only Irish President of the Chartered Institute of Housing. He is a regular media commentator on housing related issues. He is currently Chair of the Wheatley Foundation and Vice Chair of Wheatley Homes Glasgow. In Ireland he is Chair of Tuath Housing Association and iCare Housing, Dublin. In 2017 he was appointed to the Board of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) in Ireland and Chairs its Research Committee. He is a former Chair and currently a board member of Connswater Belfast, and is on the boards of First Housing and Support Services, and Advice Northwest Derry as well as Safeagent Cheltenham. In 2012 he was awarded an honorary Fellowship of RICS. In 2015 he won the UK national award for Outstanding Contribution to Work Experience. In 2016 he hosted the European Network for Housing Research (ENHR) annual conference in Belfast, the first time it had come to NI. In 2017 he was named the top power player in housing in the UK and in 2019 was awarded an OBE for services to housing. In 2021 he was appointed to the Housing Commission in Ireland.

Ad Hereijgers is Director Business Development and Sustainability Lead at RITTERWALD in Amsterdam and London. He serves as trusted board room advisor, project director for public private partnerships and joint ventures and supports in enhancing the sustainability performance of social and affordable housing providers in the UK, continental Europe and Australia. Before joining RITTERWALD, Ad was a partner in a housing and urban planning consultancy in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and New York. He has worked on numerous client projects in The Netherlands, Western Europe and the USA. Ad Hereijgers teaches master classes on housing and place-based investment strategies for professionals and is the author of several books and articles and a regular speaker at conferences. A housing economist and urban planner, he studied at the University of Amsterdam and the City University of New York.

Kevin McGarry is Programme Manager at Energy Saving Trust. He has over 17 years’ experience with local authorities in Northern Ireland and England in the delivery of a range of programmes. Previous roles at Ards Borough Council, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, and a London borough focused on Rural Development and Community Led Local Development across agriculture, aquaculture, manufacturing, hospitality and in the provision of community services. As a member of the Institute of Leadership and Management, Kevin, now Programme Manager at Energy Saving Trust, collaborates with government departments, the Utility Regulator, and the private sector to reduce carbon emissions and achieve zero carbon targets, demonstrating his commitment to sustainability and leadership in diverse sectors.

Grainia Long is the Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. 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. She is a Senior Independent Director on the Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing Group Board, a social housing provider in England.

Michael McDonnell is Group Chief Executive for Choice Housing Ireland. He joined Choice in January 2016 having been Chief Executive of Helm Housing. He has worked in leadership roles within both the private and not-for-profit sectors across the British Isles, including time with PA Consulting Group and G4S plc. He qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in 1989 and worked for many years as a partner in BDO, a leading global professional services firm.

Ceri Victory-Rowe is a Director at Campbell Tickell. She is an experienced consultant who specialises in governance and regulation and works across the housing, charity and public sectors. She has recently provided advice to the Northern Ireland Department for Communities as it reviews its social housing regulatory framework, and has previously supported Welsh Government to review its equivalent framework and regulatory standards. She is co-author of the National Housing Federation’s Code of Governance 2020 and its Code of Conduct, and a self-confessed governance geek.

Mark O’Donnell is the Deputy Secretary with responsibility for the Housing, Urban Regeneration and Local Government Group within the Department for Communities. Mark’s group plays a key role in the delivery of the Department for Communities’ common purpose of supporting people, building communities and shaping places. Mark entered the Northern Ireland Civil Service in 1993 and served as Private Secretary to Nigel Dodds and Maurice Morrow, the Ministers for Social Development when that Department was established in 1999. Prior to Mark’s current role as Deputy Secretary, Mark was the Director of Regeneration for Belfast in the Department. Mark has been involved in community and physical regeneration for the last 17 years.

Clára Robinson is the Policy and Research Executive for the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations (NIFHA). NIFHA is the representative body for Northern Ireland’s registered housing associations. Clára undertakes research and policy work within the organisation, informing best practice across the sector. Before joining NIFHA, Clára worked in the health sector in two of NI’s health trusts and studied at Ulster University. Clára has a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and has two Master’s degrees from Ulster University.

Tom Longley is the Head of Business Development at Switchee. He and his team support the UK & Ireland social housing market in gathering, analysing and actioning data from across their housing stock to allow them to proactively manage homes and support their residents. Before joining Switchee in 2023 he spent 8 years as Sales Director at a consultancy working with businesses across both public and private sector on their IT Security Strategy. Working with his customers he would help them to not just pick the right technology but also understand the people and processes required around that to deliver a successful project. He is also a Trustee at Gloucestershire based charity The Family Haven.