A former senior official at the Department of Transport has been named head of the recently-established Housing Activation Office set up by the Coalition last year to cut through infrastructural blockages and speed up housing delivery. Garret Doocey was on Tuesday appointed Deputy Secretary General with responsibility for housing activation as the Coalition continues to grapple with the housing crisis following the introduction of a number of measures to cut through delays. Mr Doocey takes up the role following controversy last year over the senior position – or so-called “housing tsar” – proposed by Housing Minister James Browne. The appointment follows the launch last month of a new €1 billion infrastructure fund with state agencies and local authorities now able to apply for additional funding in a bid to speed up housing supply. The €1bn fund will be overseen by the Housing Activation Office, which was set up last year and is made up of senior officials from the Department of Housing and a number of state agencies.

Source: Irish Independent February 10, 2026 19:08 UTC