Mr. Michael Carey:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the members of the joint committee for giving me the opportunity to join the meeting. I will begin by talking about my background and highlighting some of my experiences which are most relevant to the role as chairman of the Housing Agency, should I be formally appointed by the Minister.

I grew up in Cabra on the north side of Dublin. My parents had a newsagents and we lived in the rooms above the shop. I studied for a commerce degree and a master's degree in business studies at UCD in the early 1980s. Since graduating I have spent the last 35 years or so working in the food industry, initially in senior management roles in multinational food companies, including managing director of Fox’s Biscuits and managing director of Kellogg’s for the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the second half of my career to date I have been an entrepreneur and investor in the food sector, owning and managing a number of food businesses. I am executive chairman of The Company of Food, a specialist food investment company. We hold investments in around half a dozen food businesses, including a majority stake in a recent large-scale start-up biscuit manufacturing business based in Drogheda called East Coast Bakehouse. We also hold shares in a number of publicly quoted food and drink companies, both Irish and international.

Aside from my day job in the food industry, I have recently completed two terms as chairman of Bord Bia, during which I played a leadership role in building it into one of the most respected State agencies in the country. I have also held the role of chairman of the Grow Dublin Tourism Alliance. I am a member of the advisory board at Smurfit Graduate School of Business in UCD. For the past few years I have dedicated significant time to the not-for-profit sector as a co-founder and chairman of Traidlinks in Uganda, at the request of the then Minister of State with responsibility for overseas development at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in 2007, Conor Lenihan, and as a co-founder and chairman of The Soul of Haiti Foundation. Both organisations are dedicated to the provision of livelihoods in these developing countries.

In the area of homelessness I have assisted in designing and implementing innovative solutions to engage business leaders in supporting charities working to tackle homelessness, specifically the Food for Simon programme, where approximately 20 Irish food companies provide food products free of charge for the Dublin Simon Community, as well as arranging capital funding to build transitional housing facilities.

In all of these State agency and foundation-charity roles I have always waived any fee and personally funded all expenses associated with carrying out these roles. I would, if appointed to this or any other role, continue that practice.

Given that background, there are a number of reasons I can make a genuinely meaningful contribution to meeting this challenge. I have extensive experience in successfully running organisations and specifically chairing the boards of both private and State organisations. By applying this experience in the role of chairman of the Housing Agency I will focus on optimising the performance of the organisation, ensuring appropriate resources are allocated to its key priorities and that the contribution of its board members is optimised. I will also ensure it is run to the highest standards of corporate governance, in line with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies.

As an outsider in this sector, I can offer two specific benefits over somebody who is more deeply involved in it. First, I believe I can offer some fresh thinking, without any baggage. Second, I have no conflict of interest and believe I can engage with all of the stakeholders with some credibility. In my current day job, overseeing investments in the food industry, I am in the fortunate position to have some flexibility. I confirm that I have the time available to fulfil the role fully, regardless of how much time is required. Having said that, I am very clear that it is a non-executive chairmanship role and I will work in a manner that will allow the executive leadership of the Housing Agency to do its job, as I have done in previous roles.

The challenges facing our society in housing are significant and socially damaging. The recent increases in the numbers impacted on by homelessness, to the shockingly high level of 10,000, as reported in February; the large numbers of families in mortgage arrears; the challenges of cost and affordability of rent and house purchase; the rate of supply of both social and private housing, given the extensive numbers on housing lists and the increasing demands expected in the coming years, and the need for optimum use of vacant homes are all fundamental issues that must be addressed, now more than ever. It is clear that all of the key stakeholders share a desire to fix these problems, although there seem to be some fundamental differences in views on how best to ensure they will be addressed. There are many barriers in the way of the making the desired progress. As chairman of the Housing Agency, I will seek to ensure the organisation will play a full role in delivering solutions and overcoming these barriers. I believe the agency is well placed to be a world-class knowledge base for housing policy and practice, in working closely with the Department, the local authorities and the approved housing bodies to develop and implement policies that will achieve the right results. The agency can play a positive and substantial role in addressing the current challenges and I am determined to personally provide a leadership contribution to ensuring genuine progress is made and that the Government policies captured in Rebuilding Ireland will be implemented efficiently.

I do not come to the role with a simplistic belief there are easy solutions. I do not come with fixed views on how the Housing Agency should act to meet its objectives. My initial priorities in the role, should I be appointed, will be to initiate and oversee a review of the role and purpose of the agency, to refresh its statement of strategy, to clarify its key priorities and to ensure its resources are being optimised in order that it will become one of the most respected State agencies. The output of the review will be very clear in intended deliverables. I will seek to ensure the Housing Agency has a high level of engagement with all of its key stakeholders and that the views and inputs from all perspectives of the issues are captured in the thinking behind its programmes. Achieving a clear understanding of the roles of, and relationships with, each of the stakeholders and sister agencies will make the efforts of the Housing Agency more effective and avoid duplication of effort. I will also focus on ensuring the metrics used by the agency are appropriate and that the data being used are robust. I will aim to focus on specific deliverable outputs of the agency, ensuring clarity in what it aims to achieve and in its performance against these targets.

In short, I intend to focus the organisation on getting the job done, applying a robust and professional management process. As I become fully briefed on all of the current issues and challenges facing the Housing Agency and we finalise a revised statement of strategy, I look forward to engaging closely with the committee in whatever manner it considers appropriate. I am happy to commit the necessary time and energy to the role. I hope that if I am appointed, I can make a positive contribution.