The Joint National Housing Conference has got underway in Limerick, bringing together high profile speakers from across a variety of organisations.

Covering the theme 'Future Settlement – Living in Towns and Cities', the two-day event (28-29 March) will explore the unprecedented challenges Ireland faces in housing planning, design and delivery in the decades ahead.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien TD opened the conference at Limerick's Strand Hotel, which is set to include papers on recent Government initiatives such as the Housing for All, Town Centre First and Housing Typologies for Compact Growth.

International speakers Gerard Maccreanor, Andrew Beharraell, Teresa Borsuk, David Birkbeck, Andrew Matthews and Stephen Proctor will bring their experience of European and British practice in large-scale urban regeneration, edge-of-city expansion and small town infill development.

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Addressing the opening session of the Conference, Minister Darragh O'Brien said: "I'm delighted to be here today to listen to the fantastic speakers and hear new ideas to help meet some of the many challenges facing us. Together we can play a central role in creating sustainable communities in our cities and towns. We need to work together to solve our housing challenges, to transition away from fossil fuels and carbon intensity all the time building towards a more resilient and sustainable society."

Speaking at the conference, RIAI President Charlotte Sheridan added: "We are delighted to be jointly hosting the Housing Conference today. Since we last held the Joint Housing Conference, we have witnessed an unprecedented period in our history which focuses our minds on our reliance and on the place where we live to protect our health and wellbeing. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the challenge of Climate Change and the humanitarian disaster unfolding in Ukraine further highlights the need for resilience, to be less reliant on unsustainable forms of energy and in finding housing solutions to accommodate those seeking refuge in Ireland."

The RIAI also launched a new Housing Statement featuring innovative architectural solutions to address the housing challenge and a call for "an Architect for every municipality who will be tasked with developing a vision statement for our villages, towns and cities to ensure we are planning our future with quality in mind." The report is available on riai.ie.