As part of a commitment to drive greater transparency and accountability for the delivery of social housing across the country, Minister for Housing, Planning & Local Government Eoghan Murphy today (20 February, 2019) published social housing delivery figures for the high-level programmes of build, acquisition, leasing, HAP and RAS for all 31 local authorities. In 2018, delivery against target has been published, on a quarterly basis, on the Rebuilding Ireland website and the full year of activity by each local authority can now be reviewed on the website. Overall, the target for social housing delivery in 2018, under Rebuilding Ireland, was exceeded by 6% and the housing needs of over 27,103 households were met. Of note is the following: • 8,422 new homes were brought into the active social housing stock through build, acquisitions, voids and leasing programmes in 2018. (4,251 build; 560 renovated voids; 2,610 acquisitions & 1,001 long-term leased). • There was an 85% increase in new build social homes in 2018 when compared to 2017 (excluding voids). • The number of new social housing homes built in 2018 was eight times greater than the number built in 2015, the year before Rebuilding Ireland (excluding voids). • Construction figures from December 2018 show almost 5,000 new social housing homes currently being built across 291 sites and this is being added to on a weekly basis. • 38% delivered by AHB’s in partnership with local authorities. • New build and long term leasing is helping us move away from HAP solutions as demonstrated by the fact that new HAP solutions did not increase significantly in 2018, but all other delivery streams did. At last week’s Housing Summit Minister Murphy took the opportunity to discuss individual rates of delivery for each local authority against their target and also stressed the need to further accelerate and enhance delivery pipelines, in particular new-build activity. Minister Murphy again reaffirmed the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government commitment to supporting local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies deliver much-needed homes across the country. He emphasised that funding and resources are not an issue and that any delivery targets set for local authorities are minimum targets and stressed the importance of each local authority doing as much as possible. In Galway, where there are significant delivery challenges, Minister Murphy is establishing a Galway Housing Delivery Task Force, which will be chaired by Ms. Geraldine Tallon, former Secretary General. Ms. Tallon currently chairs the Cork Housing Delivery Task Force, which has supported Cork City Council deliver 117% of their build target and Cork County Council 126% of their build target.

Data were collected in 70 detached houses built in 2011-2017 in compliance with the mechanical ventilation requirements of California’s building energy efficiency standards. Each home was monitored for a one-week period with windows closed and the central mechanical ventilation system operating. Pollutant measurements included time-resolved fine particulate matter (PM2.5) indoors and outdoors and formaldehyde and carbon dioxide (CO2) indoors. Time-integrated measurements were made for formaldehyde, NO2 and nitrogen oxides (NOX) indoors and outdoors. Operation of the cooktop, range hood and other exhaust fans was continuously recorded during the monitoring period. One-time diagnostic measurements included mechanical airflows and envelope and duct system air leakage. All homes met or were very close to meeting the ventilation requirements. On average the dwelling unit ventilation fan moved 50% more airflow than the minimum requirement. Pollutant concentrations were similar or lower than those reported in a 2006-2007 study of California new homes built in 2002-2005. Mean and median indoor concentrations were lower by 44% and 38% for formaldehyde and 44% and 54% for PM2.5. Ventilation fans were operating in only 26% of homes when first visited and the control switches in many homes did not have informative labels as required by building standards.

Methods Overview of HENGH Study

The HENGH study was conceived, designed and implemented for the purpose of evaluating impacts of residential mechanical ventilation equipment requirements that have been part of the California’s Building Energy Efficiency Standards since 2008. Starting in 2009, these standards have required bath and kitchen exhaust fans and dwelling unit mechanical ventilation with sizing and performance levels based on the residential ventilation standard (62.2) of the ASHRAE organization. The ventilation standards are intended to help maintain indoor air quality as homes are constructed with tighter shells to reduce uncontrolled outdoor air infiltration for energy efficiency.

The study was led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). All study protocols involving interactions and collection of data from private individuals and monitoring in occupied homes were reviewed and approved by the LBNL Human Subjects Committee. Research Funding and technical contributions of collaborators are noted below in the acknowledgements.

The field study included the following data collection elements:

Homeowner survey about household demographics, ventilation practices, activities that can impact indoor air quality, and satisfaction with environmental conditions in the home.
Compilation of basic data about the houses (location, size, number of bedrooms, etc.) and gas appliances and mechanical ventilation equipment (technology type, make, model, etc.)
Measurements of air leakiness of the building envelope and forced air system ductwork.
Measurements of the following parameters over a weeklong monitoring period:

  Airflows of all mechanical ventilation equipment;
  Air pollutants and environmental parameters indoors and outdoors;
  Cooktop and oven surface temperatures to identify burner use.


Participants were expected to complete a daily activity log. 

What is contained in this dataset?

The dataset contains the most relevant information collected about the 70 houses and their mechanical equipment, results of the participant survey, results of air leakage and airflow measurements at the homes, pollutant concentrations measured by time-integrated passive samplers inside and outside of the home, usage of cooktop and oven, external door open state, and time-series or air pollutants and environmental indicators measured within and outside of the houses.

Organization of Dataset

Airflow

  This folder contains time series data of monitored mechanical ventilation equipment, estimates of air infiltration rate, and overall air exchange rate. There is one csv file for each home. See HENGH_Airflow_ReadMe for more details. 


Ambient_PM

  This folder contains a summary of PM2.5 data reported by one or more ambient air monitoring stations nearest to each study home. There is one EXCEL file containing PM2.5 data reported from up to three closest regulatory monitoring sites. A composite estimate of ambient PM2.5 was calculated for each home using an inverse distance weighing method. 


Home_Equipment_Data

  This folder contains data about the house, including basic characteristics, air leakage test results, and measured airflow rates of mechanical ventilation equipment. There is one EXCEL file containing the data for all homes. The EXCEL file has ReadMe information about the data provided and a note about data quality issue concerning exhaust airflow measurements of over-the-range microwaves.  


IAQ_Monitoring

  This folder contains time-resolved air quality data, including estimated PM2.5 as measured by photometry (PM), carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), formaldehyde (FRM), temperature (T), and relative humidity (RH). There is one csv file of 1-minute time-series data for each home. See HENGH_IAQ_Monitoring_ReadMe for data header definitions and data issues. 


IAQ_Sample

  This folder contains the results of time-integrated air quality samples, including passive measurements of formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen oxides, and PM2.5 gravimetric filter measurements. There is one EXCEL file containing all data. Detail information about chemical analysis of air samples are provided elsewhere in the journal paper and report. 


Occupant_Activity

  This folder contains tabulated information provided by study participants from their daily activity logs. There is one EXCEL file containing data transcribed by a staff member, which was independently spot checked by another staff to confirm accuracy. The PDF file is the daily activity log used. 


Occupant_Survey

  This folder contains results of a survey about the occupants, their general activities related to ventilation and IAQ satisfaction, completed by study participants. There is one EXCEL file containing data transcribed by a staff member. Two homes did not complete surveys; these homes have "No survey" in each data file. Questions for the occupant surveys are provided in MS Word and PDF formats. 


State_Monitoring

  This folder contains time series data of cooking burners monitored with iButton temperature sensors and open/close status of external (mostly patio) doors monitored with state sensors. There is one csv file for each home. See HENGH_State_Monitoring_ReadMe for more details.

Net-Borrowings Time Series for Target Healthcare REIT Ltd. UK listed Target Healthcare REIT plc (THRL) is an externally managed Real Estate Investment Trust which provides shareholders with an attractive level of income, together with the potential for capital and income growth, from investing in a diversified portfolio of modern, purpose-built care homes. The Group's portfolio at 31 December 2024 comprised 94 assets let to 34 tenants with a total value of £924.7 million. The Group invests in modern, purpose-built care homes that are let to high quality tenants who demonstrate strong operational capabilities and a strong care ethos. The Group builds collaborative, supportive relationships with each of its tenants as it believes working in this way helps raise standards of care and helps its tenants build sustainable businesses. In turn, that helps the Group deliver stable returns to its investors.