Local Government

Registration for the 2025 Housing Practitioners’ Conference is now officially open.

This event will take place in person at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, on Thursday, 10 April 2025 and will conclude with a half-day session on Friday, 11 April 2025.

The conference is being organised jointly between The Housing Agency and the Institute of Public Administration. It promises a day and a half of insightful presentations and workshops led by expert speakers, all focused on discussing best practices and policies within the housing sector.

Bookings

To secure your place at the 2025 conference, please complete and submit the registration form here.  Please note a PO number is required to complete your registration.

The A-Z of Irish Local Government is designed to give an overview of each of the key services, and the principal pieces of legislation underpinning the services currently being provided by Local Authorities in Ireland. The programmeis ideal for new entrants to a local authority or existing staff members who would like to expand their knowledge of their local authority. This includes indoor, outdoor, technical, and administrative staff. It is an excellent programme for helping staff prepare for interviews.  The A-Z of Irish Local Government programme is currently available as a series of ten live webinars that are tailored to an individual Local Authority.

In July 2024, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage published the Code of Governance for Local Authorities. The Code is the successor to, and builds upon, the previous Governance Principles & Governance Framework for the Local Government Sector (2015).

The Code is to be the centrepiece of the governance framework for local authorities, who are expected to implement the Code in 2025. The code requirements and expectations are built around seven governance principles and attestation will be supported through a signed Governance Statement by each local authority and a Statement on Internal Financial Control, which will transition into a wider Statement on Internal Control in time.

This training event will be provide a briefing on the new code, including its provisions, the new obligations and expectations, and assurance statements, and will be relevant to elected members of local authorities, alongside members of the Audit Committees and those holding senior roles and roles in corporate services and internal control areas.

Commercial Rates Law is a one day online course that is for staff working within the Irish Local Government Sector who are dealing with the process of collecting commercial rates.

Debt Management Units have been established in Irish Local Authorities to deal with many areas of debt management including debts associated with commercial rates, housing rents and housing loans. The focus of this course centres specifically on the area of commercial rates law.

Courtroom Skills is a one-day intensive training course that is ideal for anyone who may be expected to give evidence in court in a professional capacity. Participants will learn about effective courtroom presentation and communication skills. Particular focus is placed on confidence building and assertive communication. 

Debt Collection Techniques is for staff working in Debt Management Units within the Irish Local Government Sector.

Debt Management Units have been established in Irish Local Authorities to deal with many areas of debt management including debts associated with commercial rates, housing rents and housing loans. The focus of this course centres on how staff working in these units can develop techniques to better handle and deal with the process of debt collection.

The Institute of Public Administration, working in close collaboration with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage presents the updated Standards for Private Rented Accommodation Training Programme.

This training programme is for staff who have direct responsibilities related to enforcement of the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2019. Administrative staff who work closely with these housing practitioners may also find it useful. 

The Social Housing Fundamentals course is designed for newly appointed (technical and non-technical) staff in Local Authorities (Grades 3-6) and Approved Housing Bodies who provide social housing services.  It will provide participants with an overview of key elements of housing policy, the social housing market and housing services.  This is a one day online course and can also be delivered as bespoke course within an Irish Local Authority.

Scenarios and Roleplay Training for Housing Practitioners is a one day programme for Official Visitors to a person/s in the person/s home. This includes Local Authority Officers, Officials and Inspectors that must have access to the persons home for official reasons.

This Induction Training Programme is designed for newly elected and re-elected members and serves as an ideal opportunity for Councillors to refresh their knowledge and understanding of the role and functions of a Council and its Elected Members. The course content includes relevant examples of services, structures, budget details and reserved functions for each local authority.

The one-day course is designed to be bespoke to your local authority and will cover:

• key structures of the local authority
• key services provided by the local authority
• financing of revenue expenditure and the operation of the revenue budget
• key roles and responsibilities of Elected Members