Co-operative Housing Ireland (CHI) is an Approved Housing Body providing 5,000 high-quality homes to low-income households. As a representative body, CHI champions co-operative principles in delivering homes and supporting communities. Co-operative Housing Ireland has been a leader in providing truly affordable homes across Ireland since 1973.
Map of Ireland
90% of CHI Members fell at ease when contacting CHI
592 homes delivered in 2021
We have more than 10,894 members nationwide

What We Do

Co-operative Housing Ireland works closely with various stakeholders in the housing sector, including Local Authorities, Government, and developers, to provide high quality social-rented homes across the country.

In addition to the 4,000+ homes provided, CHI has supported owner-occupier housing co-operatives to deliver 3,000 affordable homes.

Homes Delivered

All Ireland

Homes Delivered

Connacht 151

Homes Delivered

Ulster 50

Homes Delivered

Munster 1501

Homes Delivered

Leinster 2877
Please note that figures shown indicate the number of allocations from the local authorities of that county.

What We Do

Co-operative Housing Ireland works closely with various stakeholders in the housing sector, including Local Authorities, Government, and developers, to provide high quality social-rented homes across the country.

In addition to the almost 5,000 homes provided, CHI has supported owner-occupier housing co-operatives to deliver 3,000 affordable homes.

Image of Co-operative Housing Ireland launch

Our Vision

Our vision is of an Ireland where everyone has the option to participate fully in their own and the wider community social, economic and environmental development through co-operation.

Our Mission

Our mission is to lead the development of social, economic and environmental sustainability in Ireland through co-operative effort and the provision of co-operative housing in particular.

Image of Co-operative Housing Ireland development
Image of Co-operative Housing Ireland development

History of CHI

Co-operative Housing Ireland (CHI), formerly NABCo, was formed in 1973 to support the growing housing co-operative movement that emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s.

View our organisational timeline

Our Awards

Winner

Irish Building and Design Awards Retrofitting/Renovation of the Year 2022

Winner

Public Sector Magazine
Social Housing Award 2021

Finalist

European Social Housing Awards 2022

Shortlisted

Carmichael Good Governance 2021

Our Board

Pearse B. O'Shiel
Chairperson

Pearse O’Shiel is the chairperson of the CHI Board. He is a Ph.D. researcher and lecturer in the philosophy of education. He was raised in a home built by the New Homes Housing Co-operative in Dublin. Pearse lives in Co. Clare and is married with three adult children.

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Cinnamon Blackmore

Cinnamon Blackmore is the chairperson of the Slaney Valley Co-operative. She came to social activism to campaign for support and services for parents of special needs children, affordable housing and increased mental health services for young people in Wexford. She lives in Gorey and is a full-time carer to her son.

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Ken Burke

Ken lives in Dublin and has over 25 years experience leading financial services businesses. He holds board positions in regulated firms in Ireland and the UK and was previously CEO of AIB Mortgage Bank and Head of AIB Business Banking. He runs a successful strategic advisory business and has extensive property, commercial and risk skills. Ken is a Certified Director and holds a Masters in Business Administration from Trinity College.

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Regina Coakley

Regina works full time in manufacturing and has held positions as Training Instructor, Health and Safety Co-ordinator and is currently Production Supervisor and Planner. Regina lives in a Co-operative Housing scheme in Graiguecullen, Co. Laois.

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Enda Egan
Vice-Chairperson

Enda Egan is a serving civil servant since 1983. He has been volunteering for many years with the Richard Pampuri Social Club which is a social club for young adults with learning disabilities and special needs.

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Michael Heaney  

From 2017 to 2022, Michael Heaney served as CEO of Údarás na Gaeltachta, the state agency with responsibility for economic, social and cultural development in Ireland’s Gaeltacht regions. Prior to this, he was Director of Planning, Economic Development, Community and Cultural Services with Donegal County Council. He also served as Chief Executive of the Donegal County Development Board. He has worked in other roles within the state, local development, community development and development education sectors. Micheal is a Board Member of the Irish College Leuven, of Asia Matters and of Donegal Tourism. At present, he is Vice-President of the AER (Assembly of European Regions).

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Frances Kawala

Frances Kawala, although now retired, uses her arts background to find creative ways to encourage community involvement working with several local organisations to promote the needs of seniors, including their housing needs. She lives in a CHI home in Birr, Co. Offaly.

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Derek Maher

Derek Maher is the Chairman of Downview Residents’ Association and is currently Chairman of the Co-operative Housing Ireland Munster Co-operative. He is married with four children and two grandchildren.

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Marianne Ward-O'Leary Maughan

Marianne is a CHI Member, married with five kids and two grandchildren who are her heart and soul. Marianne loves music, cars, animals, and working in the community to help improve the area. She’s proud of where she lives, the progress the community has made in the past few years, and the neighbours and friendships she has made along the way. Marianne looks forward to being part of a team of strong people and working towards more improvements across the board for all CHI members.

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Gerry McDonogh

Gerry is a Chartered Accountant and experienced Finance professional having spent his early career working with PwC and subsequently spent 28 years with Musgrave Group in senior finance leadership positions before retiring in 2021. He has extensive experience in financial risk management, Corporate Governance and regulatory compliance. Gerry is a director of Douglas Credit Union, a not-for-profit regulated financial institution and lives in Cork with his family.

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Eugene McLoughlin

Eugene has over 40 years experience in the financial services industry and has held senior positions in Ulster Bank Group and The National Asset Management Agency. He is a Fellow of The Institute of Bankers in Ireland and holds The Diploma in Company Direction from The Institute of Directors in Ireland. Eugene lives in Dublin and is married with three adult children

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Nuala Savage

Nuala grew up in Bray, Co. Wicklow, and is the mother of one son. She works as anurse, and previously owned and ran a creche in Leopardstown. Her son has special needs and she actively engages in courses to support his care. Nuala describes herself as a ‘people person’, with a lot to offer and to learn. She loves putting her knowledge to good use in the community and getting things done.

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Our Management Team

Kieron Brennan
Chief Executive Officer
Kieron Brennan has been CEO of Co-operative Housing Ireland since 2014. He has extensive experience in the community, voluntary and co-operative sector, which saw him lead the Irish League of Credit Unions from 2008 – 2014. Prior to this, he held a leadership position as a Programme Manager with POBAL, a not-for-profit community development and financing company, which manages programmes on behalf of the Irish Government and the EU. He was also Irish Manager of Triodos Bank (one of Europe’s largest ethical banks), Executive Director of Clann Credo (social development fund) and Chief Executive of Partas
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Mark Bolger
Director of Finance
Mark Bolger joined Co-operative Housing Ireland as Director of Finance in February 2019. A qualified Chartered Accountant with a Msc. in Real Estate he has held senior leadership positions including Director of Finance & Company Secretary of Horse Sport Ireland (the governing body for the equestrian sector in Ireland), Director General of the Irish Horse Board Co-operative Society, Financial Controller of the Racecourse & Property Division of Horse Racing Ireland (Commercial Semi-State). He has a wide range of experience of having also worked as Financial Controller in the private sector with the Industrial Print Group. Mark trained with Deloitte.
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Dave Mayner
Director of Housing Services & Community Engagement
Dave has worked in social housing for more than 24 years. Before coming to CHI he spent his career to date in England, working for several different housing providers. He has operated in senior management positions since 2010 and at director level from 2017 – 2022 in Onward Homes, a housing association owning / managing 35,000 homes in the north-west of England. Dave has a background in transformational change while delivering high levels of performance. He has a passion for quality, customer service and maximising social benefit.
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Pat Moyne
Director of Corporate Services
With more than 30 years’ experience of IT and Management Consultancy Pat is leading the Change Programme to restructure the business to prepare for the growth strategy of the business and the new regulatory environment that is now in place. Pat studied Computer Science at Trinity College Dublin and has worked with a number of large IT and Management Consulting firms as well as working in the Banking industry and, more recently, with a large property services firm. Pat was the Operations Director of BearingPoint and the Head of Operations and Service Delivery for Savills Ireland. Pat is a Member of the Irish Computer Society
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David McCourt
Director of Asset Management & Property Services
David McCourt joined Co-operative Housing Ireland as Director of Asset Management & Property Services in June 2021. A Chartered Engineer with an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering, David has held senior leadership positions including Head of Technical Services at Centre Parcs Ireland where he was a senior member of the project implementation team, and as Chief of Infrastructure with the International Peacekeeping Mission in Kosovo. He has a wide range of experience having served over 20yrs in the Irish Defence Forces serving in the Corps of Engineers, overseas with both the United Nations and NATO and on secondment to Irish Aid & DFAT.
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Padraic Clancy
Director of New Business & Development
Padraic Clancy is Director of New Business, leading the Co-operative Housing Ireland Development Team. Padraic has over 25 years in Property Acquisition and Development and holding a Honours Degree in Surveying and a National Diploma in Estate Management. Padraic has managed properties on behalf of NAMA, all major Banks and receivers and is a specialist in property management, security and maintenance. Padraic was previously Head of VPSitex in Ireland, managing the security and maintenance works on large mixed Property Portfolios for PWC, Mazars, Grant Thornton and Duff and Phelps.
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Eoin Carroll
Director of Policy and Communications
Eoin’s expertise is in the areas of housing policy, communications, and organisational development. With senior management experience, including as Executive Director, he previously led the Policy and Public Affairs function in Extern, an all-island charity supporting 25,000 vulnerable children, individuals and families each year. Eoin has also worked in services for people experiencing homelessness. He is currently on the Board of a not-for-profit that supports organisations to create high quality, evidenced based services and is a former chairperson of the Irish Social Policy Association. Eoin holds a MSc. Social Policy (LSE), MBS Business (UCC), BA Sociology & Social Policy (TCD), Dip. Corporate Governance, and Dip. Community Development.
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Our Governance Policies

Our Strategy

This Strategy was originally developed by our Board, which consists of democratically elected representatives from our affiliated local co-operatives.

Board Members Handbook 2019

Information and guidance for the members of the Board, executive and staff of Co-operative Housing Ireland about the organisation and the conduct of its business affairs.

Register of Directors’ Interests Policy

The Register of Directors’ Interests Policy is intended to assist Board Members in declaring any interests which might conflict with their work with the Association.

Co-operative Principles

1.Voluntary and Open Membership

Co-operatives are voluntary organisations, open to all persons able to use their services and willing to accept the responsibilities of membership, without gender, social, racial, political or religious discrimination.

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2. Democratic Member Control

Co-operatives are democratic organisations controlled by their members, who actively participate in setting their policies and making decisions. Men and women serving as elected representatives are accountable to the membership. In primary co-operatives, members have equal voting rights (one member, one vote) and co-operatives at other levels are also organised in a democratic manner.

Image of a Co-operative Housing Ireland development launch
3. Member Economic Participation

Members allocate surpluses for any or all of the following purposes:

  • developing their co-operative, possibly by setting up reserves, part of which at least would be indivisible;

  • benefiting members in proportion to their transactions with the co-operative;

  • and supporting other activities approved by the membership.'

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4. Autonomy and Independence

Co-operatives are autonomous, self-help organisations controlled by their members. If they enter into agreements with other organisations, including governments, or raise capital from external sources, they do so on terms that ensure democratic control by their members and maintain their co-operative autonomy.

Image from a Co-operative Housing Ireland development
5. Education, Training, and Information

Co-operatives provide education and training for their members, elected representatives, managers, and employees so they can contribute effectively to the development of their co-operatives. They inform the general public – particularly young people and opinion leaders – about the nature and benefits of co-operation.

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6. Co-operation among Co-operatives

Co-operatives serve their members most effectively and strengthen the co-operative movement by working together through local, national, regional and international structures.

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7. Concern for Community

Co-operatives work for the sustainable development of their communities through policies approved by their members.

Image of a Co-operative Housing Ireland development