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Irish Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Department objected to Government's ‘housing tsar' amid concerns over pay and recruitment
The Department of Public Expenditure sought to block the approval by Cabinet of the so-called ' housing tsar ' in April, new internal records show. The Government department responsible for State spending cited concerns about the lack of a business case for the role, the implications for wider public pay policy and concerns about the process for the selection of the preferred candidate, Brendan McDonagh , the chief executive of Nama. Mr McDonagh withdrew from consideration for the role after political concerns were raised about the possibility that he might retain his €430,000 salary at Nama in the new job, and public disagreements between Coalition partners Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the issue. The Government intends to proceed with establishing the role to head a new 'Housing Activation Office', which is being created in a bid to speed up the building of homes to ease the housing crisis. READ MORE But it is understood objections from the Department of Public Expenditure over the role have not yet been addressed. [ Nama's Brendan McDonagh says he could have added 'value' to new housing delivery agency Opens in new window ] The proposal is not yet ready to be signed off at a meeting of the Cabinet housing committee scheduled for today, though senior sources expect that possible names for the post will be discussed by the leaders of the Government parties soon, possibly next week. Newly released emails between senior officials in the Department of Public Expenditure ('DPer') and the Department of Housing – issued under the Freedom of Information Act – reveals concerns about the role. DPer officials told their counterparts in housing on Friday, April 25th that the memo relating to the role was 'not in position to go to Government' the following week. 'We have only got sight of the draft today and we need time to properly consider a number of elements, particularly around the organisation structure,' the spending department told them. DPer complained that its pay policy division had not received a request to sanction the post describe this as 'the usual process'. 'There seems to have been no engagement with them on this and the wider pay policy implications,' the officials said. There was, the department said, no business case made; the pay rate was not disclosed; there were 'unclear' references to 'contracted expertise' for staff; and no background material was supplied on the recruitment process 'that appears to have been undertaken for the selection of the appointee'. Earlier, Eoin Dorgan, an assistant secretary at the Department of Public Expenditure, had written to the Department of Housing warning that several issues would have to be considered before the memo could go to Government. They included the functions and objectives of the HAO, its Exchequer implications, pay and conditions for the chief executive and wider staff and the precedents established by them and how the new office would interact with 'wider infrastructure projects and the National Development Plan'. Sources with knowledge of the issues raised said DPer's objections have not fully been addressed yet, though it is expected that the office, with a new chief executive, will be established in the coming weeks. In response to questions, the Department of Public Expenditure said it was continuing to engage with the Department of Housing 'to finalise the establishment of the new office and its operations and also in relation to the arrangements for the CEO of the HAO as appropriate'. Last week, the most senior civil servant in the Department of Housing Graham Doyle told a property conference he did not think a 'housing tsar' was necessary. The department later said in a statement that his remarks reflected his opposition to the term 'tsar' rather than the role.
BreakingNews.ie
7 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Government decides housing policy, Taoiseach says after ‘tsar' controversy
The Taoiseach has said that Government decides housing policy in response to a top civil servant's comments about a housing 'tsar'. Controversy has surrounded the role of the chief executive of the Government's new housing activation office (HAO). Advertisement The Taoiseach stressed that 'government decides housing policy' (Brian Lawless/PA) Chief executive of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) Brendan McDonagh withdrew his name from consideration following criticism of his mooted retention of a salary of €430,000. Further controversy around the role emerged at a conference last week in relation to the secretary general of the Department of Housing, Graham Doyle. He is reported by the Irish Times to have said that the Department 'never used the word 'tsar'' in relation to the HAO role and suggesting it was not as simple as giving 'enough people a kick in the backside' to make things happen. Housing Minister James Browne has said he spoke to Mr Doyle, who said he is supportive of the HAO and having a chief executive in charge of it. Advertisement Asked about the comments on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that Mr Doyle's opposition was to the word 'tsar', but 'either way, government decides' housing policy. 'The secretary general was very clear in the subsequent statements he made and he was at pains to clarify to colleagues in government that he was absolutely supportive of the Housing Activation Office, and he just didn't like the word 'tsar',' Mr Martin said. 'That's the up-to-date clarification on it. 'Either way, government decides. The elected representatives of the people decide, there's a constitution there, there's a government duly appointed by the Oireachtas and I'm very clear that if government decides upon something and its in the programme for government, it happens. Advertisement Asked if he was confident the government would find a candidate for the role, he said 'yes'. Mr Martin made the comments after turning the sod on a new 16 million euro headquarters at CPAC Modular located in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath. The new facility is expected to triple CPAC Modular's construction capacity. Mr Martin said that modern methods of construction will play an 'increasingly important role' in the future of house building in Ireland, in particular in reaching the target of 50,000 new-builds a year. Advertisement
Business Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Post
HSBC: Return to the office, or your pay will be cut
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is edging closer to a bumper pay day as he looks... Staff at HSBC's high street and commercial banking division have been warned that... The Iseq All Share has closed in the red, ending the day down 0.64 per cent since... Storyful, the Irish-founded fact verification company, reported annual losses... Brendan McDonagh admits he won't be the government housing tsar–a term he... US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on countries across the world... A deal between the EU and the US on tariffs and trade will "take time", Paschal Donohoe...
Business Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Post
Trump's tariffs caused worst economic slump since pandemic
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary is edging closer to a bumper pay day as he looks... Staff at HSBC's high street and commercial banking division have been warned that... The Iseq All Share has closed in the red, ending the day down 0.64 per cent since... Storyful, the Irish-founded fact verification company, reported annual losses... Brendan McDonagh admits he won't be the government housing tsar–a term he... US President Donald Trump's imposition of tariffs on countries across the world... A deal between the EU and the US on tariffs and trade will "take time", Paschal Donohoe...
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dáil committee to grill Nama boss on salary
The chief executive of the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), Brendan McDonagh, is expected to face questions about his €430,000 salary when he appears before the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Wednesday. The civil servant was reportedly the Government's top pick to lead its new housing delivery agency until he withdrew his name from consideration earlier this month following political controversy over his salary. Mr McDonagh will appear before the committee to discuss Nama's work and preparations for the wind-down of the agency, among other issues. A copy of his opening remarks, seen by The Irish Times, does not reference the recent political farrago that led Fine Gael to block his appointment at a Cabinet committee meeting on May 1st. READ MORE The possibility that Mr McDonagh would retain his current €430,000 salary in the top job at the new Housing Activation Agency became the subject of strong criticism from the Opposition in the Dáil. At the time, a spokeswoman for Housing Minister James Browne said: 'He [Mr McDonagh] did not want to be at the centre of controversy and felt it was far more important that the Housing Activation Office succeeds. He wishes it every success.' The official, who previously served as director of the National Treasury Management Agency, is expected to face questions on various issues from Sinn Féin. In his opening address, Mr McDonagh will tell the committee that Nama – established in 2009 to take some €74 billion of risky commercial property-backed loans of the books of five troubled Irish lenders – will complete the transfer of its lifetime surplus, currently projected to be €5.2 billion, during the year. 'We are progressing the wind down of Nama in parallel with the legislative process being managed by the Department of Finance to enact the necessary legislation that will give effect to Nama's dissolution at the end of 2025,' he is expected to tell TDs and senators on Wednesday. The Irish Times reported on Tuesday that the State paid €10.3 million for an investigation into Nama's controversial €1.6 billion sale of a portfolio of Northern Ireland properties to US firm Cerberus in 2014. Nama provided 36 witnesses to the inquiry. Its total legal bill approached €7.5 million, but the body paid €5 million of this itself.
