Dublin City Council has published the findings of FACE Dublin, a report that explores how to finance housing through adaptive re-use in a way that aligns with statutory climate targets. It responds to the dual challenge of cutting emissions from the built environment and accelerating delivery where current models are falling short.

Developed by the Centre for Public Impact (CPI) and the TransCap Initiative under a strategic research partnership commissioned by the council and supported by the Dublin Metropolitan Climate Action Regional Office (CARO), FACE Dublin builds on the council's work to embed circular economy and whole‑life carbon principles. The project examined the system shaping local government's capacity to deliver housing and climate objectives fairly and efficiently.

The report proposes a phased pathway to speed up progress:

- Near term: Establish clear ownership for delivery and secure more flexible public funding.

- Medium term: Work with national government to unlock scale and attract private and philanthropic capital.

- Longer term: Explore innovative financing mechanisms to transform how adaptive re‑use is funded.

The council said investment in regeneration strengthens Dublin's social and cultural fabric, reflecting the city's living heritage.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin Ray McAdam said, "Addressing dereliction through regeneration is one of the most important priorities for Dublin City Council. If we are serious about meeting our housing and climate ambitions, we must unlock the potential of vacant and underused buildings across our city. FACE Dublin is a timely and welcome initiative because Dubliners want their city to be vibrant, lived in, cared for and full of possibility. My mayoral theme is Celebrating Dublin, and part of that means celebrating the buildings, streets and neighbourhoods that tell the story of who we are. We are proud of Dublin. We are proud of its past, ambitious for its present and determined about its future. By working together, we can breathe new life into buildings that hold the memories of previous generations and transform them into places of opportunity for generations yet to come." Richard Shakespeare, Chief Executive, Dublin City Council said, "The recommendations that have emerged from FACE Dublin, offer a credible route for local government in Ireland to lead on circular, low‑carbon urban regeneration – demonstrating how housing delivery, climate action and place‑making can reinforce one another when approached systemically."

Dennis Keeley, Assistant Chief Executive, Dublin City Council said: "FACE Dublin brings a fresh and necessary perspective to rethinking how we address the dual housing and climate challenges we face as a city and a country. Applying systems innovation and systemic finance lens to understand how policies, planning, funding flows, organisational structures and incentives interact – and how they can be reshaped to unlock progress and catalyse implementation, FACE Dublin has provided a clear practical and phased approach to help make Dublin a leader in tackling vacancy and dereliction, maximising return on public and private investment to enhance Dublin's resilience as a liveable city."

Gabrielle Beran, Programme Director, Centre for Public Impact said: "FACE Dublin demonstrates what is possible when a city tackles complex challenges with fresh thinking and genuine collaboration. Through engagement with more than 90 stakeholders, this work has shown the strength of Dublin's commitment to delivering housing while meeting climate goals. At the Centre for Public Impact, we work with governments around the world to address complex public challenges, and Dublin City Council's ambition and openness to innovation have made this a standout partnership. FACE Dublin positions the city at the forefront of circular urban regeneration and offers a practical model for how cities can rethink finance to unlock systemic change."

Dominic Hofstetter, Executive Director at the TransCap Initiative said: "We have the solutions to deliver affordable, climate friendly housing for all communities. But the challenge of implementation is multi-layered and complex. It calls on DCC to lay out and take ownership of a bold vision, secure buy-in across the public and private sphere, and match the right kinds of capital with the right kind of interventions. This research lays out a pathway to get there and leverage financial capital as an effective tool to unlock this transformation. And it showcases Dublin's willingness to engage with cutting-edge innovation in the financial space to tackle this challenge head-on."