Speakers

Matt Cooper
Radio & TV Broadcaster

Matt Cooper is a Radio and TV Broadcaster, Newspaper Columnist and a Best-Selling Author. Matt presents and edits the daily news, current affairs and sports programme, ‘The Last Word’ on Today FM from Monday to Friday, 4.30pm to 7pm. He previously presented ‘The Tonight Show’ on Virgin Media One. He writes a weekly newspaper column for The Irish Daily Mail that is published each Wednesday and The Last Post column on the back page of the Business Post each Sunday.

In 2024, Matt launched his new podcast, ‘Path to Power’, alongside former colleague Ivan Yates. 2024 was the year of elections, in Ireland, the UK, US and the European Union. In Path to Power, experienced broadcasters Matt Cooper and Ivan Yates bring their individual points of view to a lively weekly discussion that sets the agenda and examines all the issues.

In October 2023, Matt released his book ‘Who Really Owns Ireland?’. Matt examines the key players behind the scenes of Irish property ownership – who really controls the valuable land where we live, work and play and how did they acquire it? Who are the new foreign investors and why.

Matt has a long-standing interest in business, going back to his time as Business Editor of the Irish Independent. He has written two major business biographies, both of which were short-listed for Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year: ‘The Maximalist, the story of Tony O’Reilly’ (2015) and ‘Michael O’Leary, turbulent times for the man who made Ryanair’ (2018). The latter was Financial Times book of the month in September 2018. He was also author of the number one bestseller ‘Who Really Runs Ireland’ (2009) and ‘How Ireland Really Went Bust’ (2011), both of which were also short-listed for Irish Non-Fiction Book of the Year.

Matt is a former editor of The Sunday Tribune, having been appointed at the age of 30 in 1996. He left for a career in radio in 2003. He was twice national journalist of the year and twice business journalist of the year. He co-produced and presented acclaimed Olympics documentary ‘No Earthly King’ in 2012, and ‘Ireland’s Brexit Dilemma’ and ‘Trump versus Ireland’ for TV3 in 2016 and 2017.

Conor Taaffe
Managing Director, HomeBond

B.E., M.Eng.Sc., M.A.I., BL, Dip. Public Admin, Dip. Legal Studies, CIP, C.Eng

Conor is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Barrister at Law and is the Managing Director of HomeBond, the principle provider in Ireland of structural and defects insurance in the residential construction sector. He is a member of the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s (NSAI) working groups on aggregates, masonry, timber construction and building services, and is a former member of Building Regulations Advisory Body (BRAB).

He is the Module Director for HomeBond’s ‘Building Regulations Explained’ FETAC Level 6 training course accredited by Engineers Ireland and Dublin Institute of Technology, and the ‘Mechanical & Electrical Services Explained’ training course. He has delivered technical presentations at national and international events and seminars over a number of years.

Kevin Timony
Chief Economist- DAVY

Since joining Davy in 2024 as Chief Economist, Kevin has published in-depth research on prospects for Ireland’s economic growth, housing and infrastructure. Key stakeholders include clients of Davy Capital Markets – equity research, fixed income and corporate finance – along with a range of media and public/private-sector organisations, both in Ireland and abroad. In addition, Kevin is an Adjunct Lecturer in Economics at the University of Limerick. Kevin previously worked for Ireland’s Fiscal Council, National Treasury Management Agency, and Economic and Social Research Institute.

Karen Kenny
Housing Activation Office

Karen has responsibility as Head of Business Unit for the Housing Activation Office (HAO) in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.  The Housing Activation Office was established by Government in 2025 to work with key stakeholders to resolve infrastructure constraints and unlock housing sites in towns and cities nationwide.  This includes collaborating with local authorities, infrastructure providers, industry and others to address infrastructure barriers in a coordinated way.  The Office manages the €1bn Housing Infrastructure Investment Fund (HIIF) launched in January 2026 to support direct investment in infrastructure needed to accelerate housing development and is working with utilities and infrastructure providers to coordinate investment in housing enabling infrastructure.

Paul Hannon
Sherry Fitzgerald

Paul has more than 27 years’ experience across the commercial and new homes property sectors. He has been a Director with Sherry FitzGerald New Homes since 2016 and currently heads the Munster New Homes team. Paul has directly managed several high-volume residential developments in recent years, overseeing more than 2,500-unit sales for private and institutional clients. His experience includes advising on scheme positioning, sales strategy, purchaser engagement, and delivery programmes across complex residential projects.

Cormac Smith
Clancy Construction

Cormac joined Clancy in 2023 and brings over 25 years’ experience in the construction industry, with a strong track record of leading and delivering complex Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Commercial, and Educational projects.

He has a BEng in Engineering, a certified Project Management Professional and member of the Project Management Institute, he is recognised for his strategic approach to project delivery and team leadership.

Cormac has held a number of senior industry leadership roles in the CIF, including President of the Master Builders and Contractors Association and Chairman of the Cork Branch. He also sits on a number of key industry steering groups, including the PTCM.

Sean O’Leary
Irish Planning Institute

Dr Seán O’Leary MIPI is Chief Executive of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), the all-island professional body for spatial planners. He holds a BSc in Government and Public Policy, a Master’s in Planning and Sustainable Development and a PhD from University College Cork, together with a Master’s in Professional Leadership from Atlantic Technological University. He is the author of Sense of Place: A History of Irish Planning and host of the monthly Planners’ Podcast. He also serves on the Speech and Language Therapists Registration Board and the Building and Quantity Surveyors Admissions Boards.

James O’Halloran
Cluid Housing

James joined Clúid in 2007, his current role is Head of New Business, he is a member of the Senior Management Team and is involved in the day-to-day tasks on all aspects of project development – assessment, procurement, funding, conveyancing and delivery.

Stephen McCarthy
CIF President 2025

Stephen McCarthy is the Managing Director of Astra Construction Services Ltd. which he founded over 34 years ago. He has concentrated the business in the Carrigaline area and has built over 2,000 homes.

Stephen’s in-depth knowledge of the house building industry and personal tenacity brought the company through the recession which resulted in the successful completion of a development of 400 houses in Forest Hill, Carrigaline. Having traded successfully over the last 34 years, Astra Construction Services Ltd. is now in the process of building its largest development to date comprising 950 homes in Janeville on Cork Road in Carrigaline.

Stephen is actively involved with Homebond and the CIF, at a local and national level. He is currently the President of Construction Industry Federation (CIF).

Michael Kelleher
O’Flynn Construction

Group Operations Director, O’Flynn Group, Michael co-ordinates and oversees the architectural, engineering, building, marketing and sales teams. He has market-leading experience in delivering large-scale developments from concept to completion. These include Ballincollig Town Centre and the Elysian in Cork

Eádaoin Ní Fhearghail
DHLGH

Éadaoin Ní Fhearghail is an Architectural Advisor with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Climate and Construction Innovation Unit. She works on delivery of actions under Housing for All related to Modern Methods of Construction, construction innovation and research, and construction costs. She is a registered Architect, with an MSc in Town Planning and a Professional Diploma in Housing Studies. She has previously worked in private practice on the design and delivery of medium- and high-density housing schemes

Gil Pinto
Evolusion Innovation

Gil Pinto has over 10 years of experience in the construction industry, generally specializing in innovative & high-end construction products, with expertise in product development, design & specification of a wide variety of construction systems. Within his broad experience, Gil has had responsibilities in different areas such as product development, engineering, project management, sales & marketing, training & development of team members, and automation of design tools and quality processes.

John Tuohy ACII
Director of Corporate Practice

John is an Associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute with 25 + years’ experience in the insurance and risk management sector, including more than 20 years advising clients in the architectural, engineering and construction sectors.

He has been directly involved in the design, placement and management of annually renewable insurance programmes and Owner Controlled Insurance Programmes (OCIP) for a range of major construction projects and contractors throughout Ireland and Europe.

John has also provided insurance consultancy and due diligence services to lenders, legal advisors and project stakeholders, helping to align insurance requirements across complex construction and development projects. His experience includes Construction All Risks, Delay in Start Up (DSU), Third Party Liability, Non-Negligence, Environmental Liability, Professional Indemnity, Project Specific Professional Indemnity, Inherent Defects Insurance, Decennial Insurance and Insurance Backed Guarantees.
Over the course of his career, John has managed a wide range of significant claims, including contract works losses, advanced loss of revenue claims, third-party liability matters and professional indemnity claims.

John regularly advises on insurance provisions contained within construction contracts and related project documentation, including RIAI, JCT and FIDIC contract forms, collateral warranties and bond wordings.

James Duane
Head of Sustainability & Built Environment, NSAI

James Duane BEng (Hons), CEng, MIEI is Head of Sustainability & Built Environment at the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), where he leads the certification and technical assessment of construction products, systems, and innovative building technologies through the NSAI Agrément scheme.

With extensive experience in construction product assessment, regulatory compliance, building standards, and sustainability, James works with industry, government, and standards bodies to support the introduction of innovative construction solutions to the Irish market. He is actively involved in the development of technical guidance, certification schemes, and assessment methodologies that support informed decision-making in relation to the suitability and performance of construction products and systems.