How corporate collaboration supported 8,500 families at risk of homelessness
“With more families at risk, partnerships like this are critical.”
While Bord Gáis Energy is best known as one of Ireland’s leading energy supply and service providers to families and businesses around the country for almost 50 years, one of the partnerships right at the heart of the company is their collaboration with homelessness charity Focus Ireland.
In 2025, this partnership celebrates its 10-year anniversary, and here we will take a look at the incredible success of the relationship between Bord Gáis Energy and Focus Ireland.
Thanks to their collaborative approach and colleague engagement, we are going to highlight some of the huge achievements that have been made so far, as well as how all readers can support Focus Ireland’s mission to end homelessness.
Dave Kirwan, MD of Bord Gáis Energy, James Flanagan, LEAP Ambassador,
and Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland
To begin with, marking this special anniversary, Bord Gáis Energy and Focus Ireland announced the details of their latest collaboration: free hot water for 45 Focus Ireland homes, thanks to the installation of EnergyCloud smart devices.
These devices are fully funded and installed by Bord Gáis Energy in the homes, located in Finglas and Dungarvan, which will provide hot water when surplus renewable energy is available. Thanks to the EnergyCloud smart devices, the homes will see reduced energy bills while also reducing energy waste.
Looking back, here are just some of the topline figures to give an idea of what has been achieved by this partnership so far:
- 8,500 families have been supported
- Over €7.5 million in funding has been contributed through corporate donations, campaign support, and colleague-led fundraising and company matching.
- Over the past 10 years, Bord Gáis Energy colleagues have volunteered over 8,000 hours for Focus Ireland.
- Funding and sponsorship of the Lived Experience Ambassador Program (LEAP)
Dave Kirwan, Managing Director of Bord Gáis Energy, had this to say about the collaboration to date:
“Our partnership with Focus Ireland is embedded in the heart of our business. It’s about more than money; it's about advocacy, action, and innovation.
“Our engineers have upgraded heating systems, our colleagues sleep out to raise awareness, and now we’re helping families access free hot water using surplus renewables through EnergyCloud. We are proud to support Focus Ireland and will continue to do all we can to help end homelessness in Ireland.”
To give a bit more focus on just some of the highlights of the 10-year collaboration to date between Bord Gáis Energy and Focus Ireland, here is a look at some of the achievements and initiatives that have been actioned over the last decade:
LEAP (Lived Experience Ambassador Programme)
As mentioned above, Focus Ireland’s LEAP is sponsored by Bord Gáis Energy, and this program empowers those who have experienced homelessness to have a direct impact on raising awareness, as well as advising on any upcoming policies. Ambassadors for Focus Ireland’s LEAP have given talks at the Oireachtas and at EU forums, as well as special events hosted by Bord Gáis Energy.
Shine A Light Campaign
Bord Gáis Energy has been powering Focus Ireland’s annual sleep-out events since 2018. The 2025 event will take place on Friday, 10th of October, and to date, the Shine A Light events have raised over €9.1 million, thanks to the engagement and contributions of businesses and individuals across the country.
Heating Upgrades at Aylward Green
Bord Gáis Energy engineers and apprentices volunteered their expertise to install heating upgrades to 24 Focus Ireland homes in Finglas. Thanks to the new high-efficiency boilers and smart heating controls, these homes have seen cuts to their energy bills of up to €6,000 a year.
The Bord Gáis Energy Empowerment Fund
as part of the decade of partnership with Focus Ireland, more than 9,000 parents and children have benefited from over €480,000 committed to this fund. This money has helped to provide everything from basic necessities, including covering travel expenses, clothing, and school uniform costs, as well as household and maintenance bills. Additionally, this fund helped to provide access to timely therapeutic supports, which previously would have been unavailable to these families. Through these therapeutic interventions, many children with additional needs have received accurate diagnoses and tailored supports.
With ten years down and all of the accomplishments this partnership has achieved so far, all eyes will now be on the future, as the mission to end homelessness is ongoing.
Pat Dennigan, CEO of Focus Ireland, had this to say about the teamwork between the companies:
“Beyond vital fundraising, Bord Gáis Energy has been a genuine advocate, lending its voice, people, expertise, and resources to our mission. This is corporate collaboration at its best.”
“Today, 15,747 people are experiencing homelessness in Ireland - including 4,844 children. With more families at risk, partnerships like this are critical."
To read more about the Focus Ireland/Bord Gáis Energy corporate partnership, go to Focus Ireland partnership | Bord Gáis Energy.
To donate to Focus Ireland, please visit www.focusireland.ie
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