In Ireland, social housing backed by the European Investment Bank transforms the lives of people priced out of the market

Anselm Leahy lived for many years on Dublin’s streets, without a home and no expectations that life would change. His confidence was low and there were many sad days.

“I was just living from here to there,” says Leahy, 55. “People take homes for granted. The costs of homes are so high that many people can’t afford them.”

“My will to live was very low, very very low,” he adds.

Leahy finally found an affordable place to live in late 2023, when he learned about apartments provided by the Focus Housing Association. The apartments were built with financing help from the Irish Housing Finance Agency, a state-run institution that provides loans to build affordable homes around the country.

“I’m so happy now,” Leahy says. “I feel human again.”

>@EIB

Anselm Leahy in his new apartment in Dublin. (EIB)

Over the past eight years, the European Investment Bank has loaned €750 million to the Housing Finance Agency in Ireland to build more than 5 000 affordable housing units and complete 550 renovations for energy efficiency in social housing. The latest EIB loan to this agency, signed in late 2023, provided an additional €200 million for student housing.

“There’s a huge demand for student accommodation in Ireland and it’s still growing,” says Seán Cremen, head of treasury and lending at the Housing Finance Agency. “The reality is that students often can’t live at home. They have to travel to go to university and they have to live at the university.”

Housing projects are just a small part of the support the European Investment Bank offers to Ireland. In 2023, the European Investment Bank financed €1.76 billion worth of projects in the country.

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