Senior officials and stakeholders from across the housing sector met at the Galmont Hotel to examine fresh approaches to accelerating the delivery of homes in Galway.

The forum explored new strategies to speed up building across the city and county.

Titled 'Speeding up and Scaling up Housing Delivery', the event examined key bottlenecks and considered practical steps to make housing delivery faster and more efficient in Galway city and county.

Organised by Galway City Council, Galway County Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the session forms part of the Galway Housing Taskforce's work. Established in 2019, the taskforce aims to increase the supply of social and affordable homes in the region.

Attendees included representatives from Approved Housing Bodies (AHBs), the Housing Agency, the Land Development Agency (LDA), the Housing Delivery Coordination Office (HDCO), the construction sector, banks, auctioneers and housing developers.

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Leonard Cleary, Chief Executive of Galway City Council, said the forum was timely given the scale of housing pressures facing Galway. He stressed the need for a strategic approach to ensure enough homes of the right type are delivered in the right locations, integrated with essential infrastructure. He highlighted the council's work with the Government's Housing Activation Office (HAO) to secure investment in enabling infrastructure, such as multi‑modal roads and wastewater, to unlock zoned land.

"We must move beyond traditional methods and work together to unlock delivery capacity," he said. "If we can simplify how we work and plan collectively, we'll build a stronger, more sustainable housing system for Galway."

Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, emphasised the importance of aligning residentially zoned land with the necessary water infrastructure to achieve required development densities. He stated: "With a coordinated, multi-agency implementation model, we can continue to unlock housing supply across all tenure types."

Mr Conneally added: "To meet Galway's housing needs, we must work differently. By bringing councils, agencies, and developers together, sharing data in real time, and exploring new ways of working, we can unlock untapped potential and deliver more homes faster. Collaboration and practical solutions must drive our efforts if we are to achieve meaningful results by 2030."

Using a World Café workshop format facilitated by Genesis Consulting, participants discussed how land use, planning processes and partnerships could be improved, and identified immediate actions to accelerate delivery over the coming years.

The Galway Housing Taskforce will review the forum's findings and prepare recommendations for the relevant agencies to take forward.