Professor Alastair Adair
The changing Northern Ireland housing market: Trends and affordability

Professor Alastair Adair is Professor of Property Investment and Pro Vice Chancellor (Communication & External Affairs) at the University of Ulster. Formerly he was inaugural Dean of the Faculty of Art, Design and the Built Environment. In 2007 he was appointed by Minister Ritchie as Chair of the DSD Advisory Panel of Experts for Implementation of Sir John Semple’s Review
of Affordable Housing. Research interests include the dynamics of urban development and property market performance; financial aspects of development and investment appraisal; financing of urban regeneration and the international valuation research agenda.

Alan Crowe
Taking an innovative approach to delivering affordable housing

Alan Crowe is CEO for Co-Ownership Housing, Northern Ireland’s regional body for shared ownership. His current focus lies in developing a public/private financing strategy and working model for the future scheme. This is to provide substantially more co-ownership homes on a sustainable basis. Alan is a Corporate Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and sat on Professor Adair’s panel that reported last year on the implementation of Sir John Semple’s recommendations on social and affordable housing.

David Duffy
The Republic of Ireland housing market: Lessons for Northern Ireland

David Duffy has been at the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) Dublin, since 1996. Prior to joining the ESRI he worked in London as a research analyst for a property company and in Dublin as an economic consultant, and as the in-house economist for the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland. With the macroeconomic division his main research area is the housing market. He is responsible for the Irish Permanent House Price Index. He has published in both the Economic and Social review and the ESRI’s Quarterly Economic Commentary on topics such as measuring house price change and the affordability of homeownership.

Professor Kenneth Gibb
Housing and the economy: Implications of the credit crunch

Professor Kenneth Gibb is the Head of the Department of Urban Studies at the University of Glasgow. Kenneth is an economist who has undertaken housing research since the late 1980s. Recent research has focused on the economics of social housing, market volatility and Northern Ireland. Current work includes developing policies for asset ownership through the social housing sector. He was a member of the Northern Ireland Ministerial Expert Panel charged to assist the implementation of the Semple housing affordability review (2007-2008) and is a member (current) of the Scottish Government’s Short life Working Group on improving housing association grant efficiency.

Grainia Long
The future of home ownership in the current economic climate

Grainia Long is the Director of CIH Northern Ireland, coming to this role in 2007 following two years as Director of Policy at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland where she led the Commission’s
contribution to the recent Semple Review of Affordable Housing. Previously Grainia worked as Policy Manager and as Parliamentary and Policy Officer for Shelter Scotland. She has considerable experience in public affairs and political lobbying.

Clare McCarty
The new Housing Procurement Strategy in practice

Clare McCarty is Chief Executive of Clanmil Housing, a leading provider of affordable and social housing in Northern Ireland.  Clanmil owns and manages properties throughout Northern Ireland, providing both family and supported homes.  Along with Oaklee, Woodvale & Shankill, South Ulster Housing and SHAC, Clanmil is a member of Premier Procurement, a housing association consortium. 

Paddy McIntyre
Meeting housing needs in a difficult economy

Paddy McIntyre was appointed Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Northern
Ireland’s regional housing authority, in July 1999. He had been Director of Client Services since April 1995. He has been involved in housing management since joining the Housing Executive in 1971, and has held a number of senior posts across the organisation since then, including as District Manager in Londonderry and as Senior Principal Officer in the Housing Centre, Belfast.

John O’Connor
Co-ordinating the delivery of affordable housing

John O’Connor has been the Chief Executive of the Affordable Homes Partnership (AHP) since its establishment in 2005. He is also a Board Member of AHP. The AHP was established to co-ordinate and promote the delivery of affordable homes. John has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors and was previously the Executive Manager of the Housing Department of Dublin City Council, where he worked on affordable housing projects and was involved in many of the City Council’s major regeneration projects (eg Fatima Mansions).

Margaret Ritchie MLA
The New Housing Agenda: Overcoming the challenges of delivery

Margaret Ritchie MLA is Minister for Social Development, appointed on 8 May 2007. Her portfolio includes responsibility for housing, which the Minister has identified as her top priority. Minister Ritchie was one of the SDLP’s two representatives on the Assembly’s Programme for Government Committee and also served on the Economic Challenges subgroup. She was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in November 2003 and was appointed as Deputy Chair of the SDLP Parliamentary Assembly Group. She has also served as the party’s spokesperson on Regional Development.

Dr Julie Rugg
Measures to stimulate the private sector rented housing market

Dr Julie Rugg joined the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York in January 1993. She has completed work including qualitative research on welfare and its impact on claimant and landlord
behaviour, aspects of the private rented sector and young people's housing biographies. Recent and ongoing projects include two studies for the Scottish Executive on deposit guarantee schemes and lead tenancy schemes; and an evaluation of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme for the Department for Communities and Local Government. Her most recent project was an independent Review of the Private Rented Sector, published October 2008.

David Simpson, MP, MLA
Northern Ireland housing policy: The role of the DSD committee

David Simpson, MP, MLA, was first elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003 and continues to represent the constituency of Upper Bann.  He has also served as the MP for the area since 2005.  Within the Northern Ireland Assembly, David chairs the Social Development Committee.  David has been a member of Craigavon Borough Council since 2001 and was Mayor of Craigavon from 2004-2005.  He has also served on the Northern Ireland Policing Board since 2007.