The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has appointed Garret Doocey as Deputy Secretary General with responsibility for housing activation, effective 10 February 2026.

Doocey previously served as an Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transport. He was selected following a Public Jobs recruitment process conducted in conjunction with the Civil Service's Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC).

During his time at Transport, he held roles across the Corporate, Maritime and Public Transport divisions, including responsibility for major infrastructural programmes such as BusConnects, DART+, MetroLink and national roads. Before joining the Civil Service, he worked in the private sector. He holds an MSc in Major Programme Management, an MSc in Economic Policy Studies and an MA in Public Management.

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Reporting directly to the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretary General for Housing Activation will drive and coordinate the Government's delivery of increased housing supply across all tenures. The role will also lead the Housing Activation Office (HAO), established last year by Minister James Browne.

The position is cross-cutting in nature, ensuring policy across the department's remit aligns with the objective of increasing housing supply and wider Government priorities.

A primary focus will be creating the conditions to facilitate both public and private housing delivery and the urgent activation of key sites nationwide by addressing infrastructure bottlenecks.

The HAO, set up in April last year, will fall under the new deputy's remit. Since its establishment, the office has engaged extensively with stakeholders to identify and resolve infrastructure barriers to housing delivery and to develop a coordinated investment programme with key infrastructure agencies and the local government sector. The HAO team has held robust meetings with all local authorities across the country.

On 21 January 2026, the Tánaiste and Minister James Browne launched a new multi-annual €1 billion Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund to support direct investment in housing-enabling public infrastructure and to accelerate housing delivery. The HAO will manage this fund.

The appointment is intended to strengthen and sharpen coordination of these efforts.