Ireland member showcase: Paul Carroll 

For the first in a new series highlighting the career and achievements of our Ireland members, we caught up with Paul Carroll to find out more about his time in housing and his role at Fingal County Council. 

After over 20 years working as a civil engineer and project manager where he delivered infrastructure for a variety of public and private sector organisations, Paul Carroll was appointed director of housing and community development for Fingal County Council in 2023. 

He leads a team of over 200 staff at the council, with responsibility for tenant and estate management of more than 7,000 properties, homeless services, traveller accommodation, asset management and new housing construction and delivery, as well as the community development office. 

Paul is currently leading several large-scale mixed-tenure developments of affordable, cost rental and social housing at several sites across the county, in line with the government’s Housing for All policy. 

We asked Paul a few questions to find out more about his work.

What does a normal day look like for director of services? 

There is no such thing as a normal day! What I love about this role is the variety and the fact that every day presents new challenges. 

I especially enjoy meeting with lots of people from a variety of backgrounds during a typical week, from elected representatives to approved housing bodies, the department of housing, council colleagues around Ireland and the homebuilding industry — not to mention leading the very committed team in the Housing and Community Department internally in Fingal County Council. 

What challenges do you face in your role? 

With a large capital investment programme in Fingal County Council of over €1bn, it’s no surprise that a substantial proportion of my time is spent dealing with the challenges that typically occur on large, complex construction schemes. 

Key challenges would include securing government funding, successfully progressing schemes through the planning process, dealing with building contracts on a variety of sites, and managing all the financial and technical aspects that entails in partnership with numerous public and private sector organisations. 

What aspects of your role do you find the most rewarding? 

The human aspect of what we do is without doubt the most rewarding aspect for me. Helping people and having a direct positive impact on the quality of life for lots of people across Fingal is really satisfying. 

From helping older and mobility-impaired residents to secure funding for home improvement grants, to creating brand new, high quality and sustainable communities for young families, the amount of good that the housing and community team delivers for communities across Fingal is phenomenal. 

What advice would you give to anyone considering a career like yours? 

I am delighted that I made the transition into housing as, at the time, it was a big change for me in terms of my prior professional experience. However, I continue to learn so much in the process, and I get to work with lots of interesting and dedicated people. 

So, my advice would be to take whatever opportunities arise to work in a new area and gain new experiences, and for anyone searching for a challenging, varied and extremely rewarding and meaningful career, housing is definitely a good option!