Results 141-160 of 1,110,109 for in 'Dáil debates' OR (speaker:Peter Burke OR speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Simon Coveney OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke OR speaker:Michael Fitzmaurice OR speaker:Cathal Berry OR speaker:Alan Dillon OR speaker:Niamh Smyth OR speaker:Róisín Shortall OR speaker:Jennifer Whitmore OR speaker:Jackie Cahill OR speaker:Denise Mitchell OR speaker:Michael Lowry OR speaker:Johnny Mythen OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Patricia Ryan OR speaker:Jennifer Murnane O'Connor OR speaker:Catherine Connolly OR speaker:Holly Cairns OR speaker:Imelda Munster OR speaker:Catherine Martin OR speaker:Mattie McGrath OR speaker:Paul Murphy OR speaker:Steven Matthews OR speaker:Pauline Tully OR speaker:Micheál Martin OR speaker:Pippa Hackett OR speaker:Thomas Gould) in 'Committee meetings'

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Thomas Gould: Even if we were to take the human side out of it, Mr. O'Gorman has made the point about the consequences of having cold and damp houses with mould in them. I have people now whose clothes in their wardrobes are mouldy. The ends of their beds are getting damp because they are up against the wall. The human cost of this is great, but so is the financial cost. When there is a chance to do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Thomas Gould: I always that the concept whereby an AHB or a local authority would step in when a family was in trouble rather than that family losing its house was a good one. There seems to be a reluctance, however, to get involved in this undertaking. I would like to see more of it being done. I say this because my big worry now is that people are paying so much for overvalued homes that some of them...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Thomas Gould: I thank Ms Cleary.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Thomas Gould: What I am taking from that is that we are saying local authorities cannot plan in the long-term.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: We will have to allow representatives from the local authorities to come in to answer that question. It is unfair to-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Thomas Gould: I will say that local authorities, to be fair to them, are not being funded long-term. This would be the way to look at it. I must run, so I thank the witnesses very much. Go raibh maith agat.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: I thank Deputy Gould.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: I thank the Deputy. I have just one question and then I will go back to him.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: When AHBs engage with local authorities and partner up with them, sometimes a local authority will provide the land and an AHB will do the construction. Where is the decision made on to day these 46 units, for example, will be AHB or cost-rental properties? Does the housing need and demand assessment team negotiate that with the local authorities by indicating what the demand is and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: There was a recent Government-produced report on the total costs in construction. We have also had good engagement with the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland which has been doing a series on costs in construction every couple of years. The costs in the two most recent reports seemed to align quite closely. Is the Housing Alliance in agreement that that is generally the cost of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: That is depending on the site. It could be much higher, as different sites incur different costs for preparation development, etc.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: The figure we were seeing in those SCSI reports was approximately €400,000 and something for total cost of construction.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: This is a discussion for another day and I do not expect Mr. O'Gorman to be able to crack this nut today but most of us across the political spectrum are more or less in agreement on the number of housing units that need to be produced over the next number of years, whether new builds or refurbishments. How do we make something affordable that costs a lot of money to make? That is the crux...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: Explain that to me. Both the gearing and changing the funding mix.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: To go back to cost rentals, that is having an impact on the level at which the witnesses must set rent. Is the point that this is a more expensive model for the bodies?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: I will leave the final slot to Deputy Ó Broin and we will finish in nine minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: Thank you, Deputy Ó Broin. I thank you all for your attendance here today. I found it very helpful. We will now suspend the meeting for five minutes to allow the witnesses to leave and to allow the witnesses for the next session to prepare.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: Good afternoon everybody. You are all very welcome back to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We are resuming the discussion on the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2024. We are joined by officials from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I welcome: Mr. Vinny Colgan, from the AHB policy and agency governance...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: They might not have to look at us much longer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Bill 2024: Discussion (10 Oct 2024)

Steven Matthews: That sounded like a programme for Government negotiation-type question. Deputy Ó Broin may get an opportunity to make a further input on that. I will raise a point with the officials. This is a second Bill and part of the first Bill the Department brought to us. I will raise the matter of the community-led housing groups we allowed for in the Affordable Housing Act. During our...