NAMA head never discussed housing czar salary, committee told
The head of NAMA has told the Oireachtas Committee on Finance that his salary was never discussed when he was approached to become the so-called housing czar.
Brendan McDonagh said the first time he discussed a possible move to the Housing Activation Office was in April, when he met the Secretary General of the Department of Housing, after which he met Minister James Browne [on 16 April].
Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty asked Mr McDonagh about what steps were taken by the Government in its approach to him as a potential chief executive of the Housing Activation Office.
The Donegal TD asked Mr McDonagh about the process of moving away from NAMA and while he said it was not relevant to committee proceedings, he said he would be "open and frank" with him.
Mr McDonagh said: "There was a lot of speculation in newspapers for a number of weeks, [but] nobody had discussed anything with me [at that time]."
He said he met with the relevant people in the run up to Easter.
Mr McDonagh said this was not a job he sought, but that Minister Browne told him his name had come up in conversation.
He said he agreed to have his name circulated at Cabinet, following this meeting.
Mr Doherty asked him if he had spoken to anyone else in the Government, to which he said no.
Mr McDonagh said: "On the first of May, given there was a lot of political controversy about the role, I'm not a political person, I'm apolitical, I really felt I didn't want to be part of that...I'm a public servant and I really didn't want the story to be about me."
Mr McDonagh said salary was never discussed.
"Was it ever understood you were retaining your €430,000 salary?" Mr Doherty asked.
Mr McDonagh accepted there was a lot of speculation about his salary, but said it had never been discussed.
Mr Doherty also asked him about reports that he rented out a property for €10,000 per week considering the housing crisis, but Mr McDonagh said he would not answer questions about his personal circumstances.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
8 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Govt moves to change Rent Pressure Zones system
The Government is moving towards changing the current Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) system ahead of a crunch Cabinet meeting on the matter next Tuesday. Intensive discussions have already taken place on this politically sensitive issue between the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and a number of ministers. Further talks are set to take place on Monday night in advance of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning. The current legislation on RPZs caps annual rent increases at 2% or at the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. However, it will lapse at the end of December and the Government is now likely to begin preparing new legislation which will change the present system. This will, the Government believes, "give certainty to the market". The Taoiseach has consistently stated that a stable climate has to be created to incentivise developers to invest in the domestic rental market. Senior figures in the coalition believe that "doing nothing" is not an option and if the RPZs legislation is allowed to lapse, then it would be a return to market rents for tenants. To avoid this, new legislation will be brought before the Oireachtas. The Housing Commission last year recommended "reference rents" which would tie rates to local homes of a similar quality. However, opposition parties have warned that any move to abolish the "modest protections" provided by the RPZs will be strongly resisted.
The Journal
21 hours ago
- The Journal
Housing Minister pulls plug on almost 500 social homes across six sites over rising costs
ALMOST 500 HOMES have been delayed after Housing Minister James Browne pulled the plug over concerns about the costs involved in the multimillion euro project. The social housing developments were understood to be near shovel-ready and were to be delivered under a public private partnership (PPP) scheme across six sites. Up to 244 of the homes were planned for Dublin and the others are spread across Kildare, Wicklow and Sligo. It is unclear when the homes will now be delivered, but the Housing Minister stressed tonight in a statement to The Journal that the government aims to to deliver them 'as expeditiously as possible' through an 'alternative procurement and delivery strategy'. The decision is set to have significant ramifications, as the department confirmed this evening that housing officials will now carry out a review of four upcoming PPP bundles – each earmarked to contain hundreds of homes. 'After careful evaluation of the costs associated with the 486 homes which were to be delivered under PPP Bundle 3, the Department has decided not to proceed with contract award on a value for money basis,' Browne said tonight. 'The department and the relevant local authorities remain fully committed to delivering the social housing that PPP Bundle 3 was designed to provide. These social homes are very much needed and remain a priority for Government, my Department and the relevant Local Authorities.' Brown said that all six sites have 'full planning permission' and that the department is determined to deliver the homes quickly under a new procurement and delivery strategy. The sites that have been hit by the delay are: 68 homes at the Ready Mix Site, East Wall Road, Dublin 3; 93 homes earmarked for older people in Shangan Road, Ballymun, Dublin 9; 83 homes in Collins Avenue, Whitehall, Dublin 9; 73 homes in Ardrew, Athy, Co. Kildare; 106 homes in Burgage More, Blessington, Co. Wicklow; and 63 homes in Rathellen, Finisklin, Sligo. Advertisement It is not yet known how much the project was set to cost the taxpayer but inflation has been an increasing issue in the housing sector in recent years. In the two previous public private partnership projects, delivered under the same process, final capital spend was €119 million and €129 million respectively. Homes in the latter of those projects costed on average €277,000, excluding VAT. Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the sudden reversal means the minister needs to provide funding to local councils to deliver the homes directly with contractors 'without any further delay'. 'I have always argued that PPPs don't represent value for money for the taxpayer. It's somewhat ironic the government are now saying they don't believe PPPs are good value for money,' Ó Broin told The Journal . He said that the schemes are a poor way to deliver social housing, partly due to the complex structure requiring up to five different partners for each housing project. 'The most important thing now – on foot of the minister's decision – is what he's going to do to deliver, as a matter of urgency, these homes which are badly needed,' Ó Broin added. 'Homelessness is rising, house prices are rising, waiting lists are rising, council waiting lists are rising. This needs to be resolved as soon as possible.' This week's halting of the PPP scheme is likely to pile further pressure on the government over its housing delivery numbers. The government came under fire in recent months for missing its overall 2024 housing target of 40,000 homes by a margin of 10,000. And it came in for further criticism in April when it emerged that it had fallen short of its social housing target for last year by 18%, amounting to 2,345 homes. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Prominent businessman loses bid for reporting restrictions on £1bn loan fraud trial
A prominent Belfast businessman accused of fraud in relation to a £1 billion (€1.2 billion) loan deal has been unsuccessful in his bid to have reporting restrictions imposed on the trial. Frank Cushnahan has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He had sought to have reporting restrictions put in place during the trial. His co-accused, Ian Coulter, has also pleaded not guilty to all charges. Mr Coulter did not seek to have reporting restrictions applied. The charges against the men relate to the sale of a loan book held by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), which was set up by the Irish government to deal with toxic property loans after the banking crisis in 2008. READ MORE Mr Cushnahan had sought an order from the court pursuant to section 4 (2) of the Contempt of Court Act 1981, which states that reporting on certain proceedings may be postponed if there is 'a substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice in those proceedings'. In dismissing the application, Mr Justice Ian Huddleston of the Crown Court of Northern Ireland said there was 'no substantial risk to the applicant on the facts'. He said there is 'substantial public interest' in the trial. 'The public interest in fair and accurate reporting of criminal trials generally, and the promotion of public confidence in the administration of justice and the rule of law, is something which very much tends to the dismissal of the application,' the judge said. Nama's Northern Ireland loan book was sold to a US investment fund in 2014. Mr Cushnahan, a former member of Nama's Northern Ireland advisory committee, is charged with fraud for allegedly failing to disclose information to Nama between April 1st and November 7th, 2013. Mr Coulter, a solicitor, is alleged to have made a false representation to a law firm on or around September 11th, 2014. He is also charged with making an article in connection with a fraud, namely a £9 million invoice, and two counts of concealing or transferring criminal property on various dates in 2014. Both men are accused of making a false representation to Nama and a law firm in April 2014. They deny all charges. In his written judgment, which was delivered on Wednesday, Mr Justice Huddleston said: 'The application to this court was essentially by way of written submissions made by Mr Cushnahan's counsel as expanded upon orally but acknowledged by him to be unsupported by any evidential basis or other supporting information.' Mr Cushnahan was represented by Frank O'Donoghue KC and Bobbie-Leigh Herdman BL, instructed by Paul Dougan from John J Rice Solicitors. Four media organisations intervened in the case – The Irish Times, RTÉ, BBC and Mediahuis. They were represented by Richard Coghlin KC, instructed by Fergal McGoldrick of Carson McDowell LLP. Jonathan Kinnear KC and Lauren Cheshire BL, instructed by the Public Prosecution Service, supported the media interveners' submissions.
