Dublin needs to commit resources in a more meaningful way in order to emulate the "Vienna model", a major housing conference has heard.
Attendees at last week's "Innovative Solutions to Housing Problems" conference were told politicians have responded to the current housing crisis in a "piecemeal way".
Conference organiser and CEO of Home for Life, Paul Cunningham said a collaborative approach was required to resolve the current crisis.
Nearly 800,000 Irish people now living below the poverty line, St Vincent de Paul reveals
He said: “A key part of the success of the Vienna model has been the support for tenants, including social workers and other support workers, and a focus on solutions.
“The delivery of solutions requires a level of commitment, and schemes such as the expanded Mortgage to Rent scheme, which supports distressed mortgage holders to remain in their homes as tenants, are important in driving the success of such models."
The keynote speaker at the event was Michaela Bankel, Vice Director of Europe’s biggest housing agency, Wiener Wohnen in Vienna.
She said the Vienna model of a strong public housing sector with social responsibility was the basis for a high quality of life and low levels of homelessness.
She added that the Austrian capital focused on mixed-use development with 45% of its housing stock being let for less than free market rent under the cost rental model.
The model also includes higher income limits of €53,000 per year for the allocation of city-owned and subsidised apartments so those on middle incomes have access to social housing.
