Housing LIN Irish Visit

This week, Clare Skidmore and Ian Copeman of the Housing LIN attended a Housing Agency Ireland event to share their insights about developing housing solutions for an ageing population. Clare and Ian joined a panel alongside representatives of the Irish Department of Health, Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and Age Friendly Ireland. The event showcased the work of the Housing LIN, highlighting the Housing LIN’s approach to collaboration with partners across central and local government, housing and the NHS in the UK to promote housing options which support health and wellbeing.

The trip also enabled Clare and Ian to learn about the positive work of colleagues in Ireland. Two examples included the work of Age Friendly Ireland, through which Ireland has just become the first country in the world to be fully affiliated with the World Health Organisation’s Global Network of Age Friendly Cities & Communities (in December 2019); and also the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, based in Dublin, which is ‘dedicated to enabling the design of environments that can be accessed, understood and used regardless of a person's age, size, ability or disability’.

It is hoped that this visit signals the first stage of an ongoing, fruitful relationship between colleagues with shared values and objectives in the UK and Ireland – united in the commitment to promoting high quality housing solutions for older people in both countries.