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Irish Examiner
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
100% mortgages would drive up house prices, Central Bank warns
Celtic Tiger-era 100% mortgages would drive up house prices and increase risks to borrowers and banks, the Central Bank has warned. Mark Cassidy, the Central Bank's director of financial stability, warned TDs and senators at the Oireachtas housing committee against the return of 100% mortgages. 'We think that would be a bad idea,' Mr Cassidy said. It would add to demand without any impact on supply and therefore add to prices. 'More fundamentally, it increases the risk for borrowers and for banks.' Banks introduced 100% mortgages during the Celtic Tiger period, but more recent Central Bank rules do not allow either 100% or 95% mortgages to be given out. Current rules require borrowers to have a 10% deposit in order to obtain a mortgage. Mr Cassidy said reintroducing 100% mortgages would increase the risk of default, if a household's income fell. He added that, if house prices fall, homeowners would immediately fall into negative equity and would be likely to 'get into financial distress'. 'We believe a minimum of a 10% deposit remains necessary for either first time borrowers or existing borrowers,' he added. 'We would be confident that 100% mortgages are overly risky, both from the perspective of the borrower and the perspective of the bank.' The matter was raised by a number of TDs and senators during the meeting, who questioned whether it would be possible to allow for the reintroduction of 100% mortgage products. It comes as Independent Ireland has called for the reintroduction of 100% mortgages, saying that many tenants are able to pay more in rent than they would need for monthly mortgage repayments. The Central Bank was also critical of Government plans to consider expanding the First Home shared equity scheme to second-hand homes. Robert Kelly, the Central Bank's director of economics and statistics, warned against the measure. 'The challenge in front of us, it's mainly supply. The current scheme works through pushing up demand and house prices, creating more additional funding for them to buy houses so it stimulates supply. 'I don't see how applying that to the second-hand housing market would achieve that. I think the net effect of that would be additional demand, which would likely feed its way into house prices as opposed to creating large amounts of supply.'
NZ Herald
24-05-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Budget 2025 the ‘buy your ticket to Australia' Budget
Where's the plan to deal with this? Nowhere to be seen. Don't get me wrong, as a business leader, the ability to deduct a bit of extra tax on new asset purchases is welcome and it might accelerate some investments. But it's not going to move the needle. Even Treasury predicts it will only add 1% of GDP over the next 20 years. That's 0.05% of GDP a year. Literally a rounding error for Statistics New Zealand. That's it? An extra 0.05% of GDP, a Waipawa's worth of economic output a year. That's the big plan we've been told to expect? Mark me down as unimpressed. Meanwhile, unemployment is taking a huge toll on our young people: 10.9% unemployment among 20-24-year-olds, 23.9% for 15-19-year-olds in the latest figures. Not because they're lazy and 'on the PlayStation' as Nicola Willis puts it. But because there aren't enough jobs. Youth unemployment didn't spike by 50% in the past year and a half because young people suddenly got lazy, eh? It's because the economy has lost over 30,000 jobs in that time, and the youngsters (along with Māori and Pasifika) always get the short end of the stick when there's not enough jobs to go around. Hassling young people who are stuck on the dole because there's no jobs won't suddenly get them into work. Forcing 19-year-olds who have lost their job to ask their parents to support them and cutting their dole off regardless of whether their parents do or not is just mean. And if they do get a job? Well, better hope it's not in a female-dominated industry, eh? Because pay equity is out the window. $13b of payouts to underpaid workers, $300 a week – gone. Oh, and your KiwiSaver contribution is going up, and Treasury expects the added employer contribution will ultimately come out of workers' pay, too. But the Government contribution, that's getting cut in half, which will mean tens of thousands less in your nest-egg when you retire. Maybe rangatahi should get some more education, so they can get a higher-paying job? Ah, but tertiary tuition funding is being cut in the Budget, and fees are going up. What about somewhere to live? Good luck. Money is being pulled out of house building and First Home loan assistance, and going into paying landlords in Auckland to convert their rentals over to social housing. I don't buy this dumping on the younger generation that seems to be so popular with this Government and certain commentators. They're not lazy or spoiled. They're no worse than we were and, in many ways, they're better – smart, inquisitive, and healthily sceptical. The latest Budget predicts slower growth and rising youth unemployment. Photo / Marty Melville But, I tell you what, they've got it harder than most of us had it. The Kiwi Dream that we used to all have a decent shot at achieving – a home of your own, a decent job paying enough for good quality of life – must seem light years away to today's 20-year-olds. Not a goal, just a joke. If you're a young person, you've got to be asking yourself – 'what am I staying here for?' Not for low wages and lack of an economic vision. Not for the crumbling infrastructure and the underfunded health system. Not for a Government that cares so little about the climate you'll have to live in that it's planning to invest in natural gas drilling. No wonder our young people are leaving this country in record numbers. After this Budget, the planes to Aussie are going to be chocka with our country's future, seeking a better chance across the sea. I'm all for international travel and OEs. I mean, I'm on my middle-age OE right now. But if my kids and my young whānau go overseas, I want them to go because they have built a great foundation in Aotearoa and, now, they want to see the rest of the world. And I want them to want to come back home after their travels. I don't want them to leave because the Government has as good as packed their bags for them and told them there's no hope for them here if they stay.
Irish Examiner
13-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Tánaiste to tell Cabinet tariffs will remain regardless of EU-US deal
Tariffs are likely to remain in place even if the EU is able to reach a deal with the US, Tánaiste Simon Harris is set to tell Cabinet. Mr Harris is to update Government on the progress of EU-US trade talks, in the wake of an agreement being signed between the US and Britain last week. The foreign affairs minister is due to tell Cabinet that the US-UK agreement will formalise and solidify tariffs, it is understood. This is despite both Ireland and the EU seeking a free trade deal which removes barriers as well as lowers, or in some areas, abolishes tariffs altogether. However, Mr Harris will say that an initial analysis of the deal does appear to have averted the prospect of different tariff rates on both sides of the border. It's understood the Tánaiste has been in contact with EU trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic in recent days, after the Commission revealed its proposed countermeasures, to outline Ireland's position. It's expected there will be further engagement with Mr Sefcovic at the EU's foreign affairs council later this week. The Cabinet will also be updated by education minister Helen McEntee on Leaving Cert reform, which is due to begin its first phase this September. The reforms include project work, known as additional assessment components, to be worth 40% of a students total grade in a subject. Both teacher unions, the ASTI and TUI, are due to ballot their members on the proposals after new supports were confirmed. Additionally, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will ask the Government to approve the new 2025 Sláintecare implementation plan, alongside the 2024 progress report. It is understood the progress report outlines a reduction in cumulative daily trolley counts by 11% compared to 2023, despite an 8% increase in patients attending emergency departments. It also details that 95% of GPs have signed up oto the chronic disease management programme, with 650,000 patient reviews last year. Meanwhile, housing minister James Browne will seek Cabinet approval to extend the First Home shared equity scheme for another two years, alongside providing a further €30m in funding. A Government source said the extra funding will match commitments by banks participating in the scheme – AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB.
The Herald Scotland
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Two Worlds by Kate Bentley opens this weekend at Morningside Gallery
Kate originally a Sculptor and Theatre Designer became a professional painter in 1999 and is a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Society of Women Artists. Her work is held in both private and public collections. Originally from the Lake District she is now based on the Solway coast in South west Scotland. Kate's location and landscape hugely influences her subject matter and historically she is a 'painter of life', using her en-plein air sessions and life drawing to feed her narrative paintings. Beyond the obvious differences in subject matter, the idea of two worlds also underpins the way Kate engages with her subjects and her materials. The interplay of the real and the imagined is present in all of Kate's paintings, along with fearless experimentation and an urge to tear. [First Home, First Garden, Oil on Panel, Framed size 99 x 75cm] Kate works with the shapes and colours she creates to begin to bring some realism into the work, to tease out a subject. More often than not, as soon as realism begins to tip the balance within a painting, Kate disrupts the flow, breaks the line, moves the viewer's eye into another field or onto another detail elsewhere. Sometimes paintings which feel complete are stripped back – destroyed almost – and then layered up again, as she employs various techniques and materials – projected photographs, the reflection of her garden in the studio door, old paintings, unexpected patterns – to give the painting a completely new dimension. We see these techniques at play within many of her garden paintings, which are both botanical studies and imaginative narrative works in equal measure. Initially they burst forth with verdant yellows and greens, we see lush leaves and bright flowers, but also what might be a person, or is it just a reflection of a person? We look further and there are some steps. We walk down them and out beyond the painting. [City Haven, Oil on Panel, Framed size 137 x 95cm] Perspective is thrown out of the window and the kaleidoscopic element in so many of Kate's works makes it almost impossible to behold the scene complete upon first viewing. The effect can be quite dazzling, as light is used to both reflect and refract; at times it is as though we are seeing the subject through the reflections of a beautiful old mirror, distressed and fractured with age. There are moments of recognition before the line is broken again and we are taken somewhere else. Again, within Kate's paintings of Edinburgh, reality is observed initially but soon replaced by a kaleidoscopic view of the city. Edinburgh is presented a witness to the many stories told and lives lived, past and present. A city of beautiful gardens and breath-taking natural landmarks sitting side-by-side with historical architecture. Everything is here and all at once, as past and present, natural and human made, real and imagined are woven together with colour, shape and pattern. The mark making in these paintings, like all of Kate's work leads the eye to new places, new points of interest, and once the eye settles, journeying through the paintings feels like an adventure; both expansive and immensely satisfying. Two Worlds with artist Kate Bentley starts 3rd – 18th May at Morningside Gallery, 94 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4BY. Tel 0131 447 3041. Join the Morningside Gallery mailing list by email here art@ Click here to view Morningside Gallery is a well-known and respected art gallery located in the Morningside area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 2003, it has built a reputation for showcasing a diverse range of contemporary art, with a focus on both Scottish artists and international talent. The gallery is particularly known for its curated exhibitions of paintings, prints, and sculptures.
Irish Daily Mirror
23-04-2025
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Government missed its social housing targets again in 2024
The Irish Government has missed its social housing targets again. It comes months after it was confirmed that it had missed its overall housing target of 33,300 after promising the delivery of 40,000 new homes in 2024 during the general election. Housing for All, the Government's housing 'blueprint,' breaks down the number of privately owned, social, affordable and cost-rental housing units that should be built in any given year to meet their targets. James Browne's Department of Housing published the social and affordable housing delivery statistics for 2024 on Wednesday morning. It stated that 10,595 social homes were added to the social housing stock in 2024. This included 7,871 new-build homes, 1,501 acquisitions and 1,223 homes through leasing programmes. The target for social and affordable housing in 2024 was 12,930 homes. It was anticipated that 9,300 homes would be built, 1,500 homes would be acquired and 2,130 homes would be leased. The only target met was the acquisition target. The building target was missed by 1,429 homes (15 per cent), while some 907 fewer homes (43%) than expected were leased. The Department of Housing stated that, when the Housing Assistance Payment (8,121 payments) and Rental Accommodation Scheme (1,576 payments) are included, '20,292 housing supports were delivered across 2024.' However, these schemes were also below target. The target for 2024 was to create 8,800 HAP and 1,600 RAS tenancies. However, the government exceeded its target of 6,400 affordable and cost-rental housing. Some 7,126 homes were created in 2024. However, this included 2,851 instances where first-time buyers availed of the First Home 'bridge the gap' scheme. This gives the Government or local authorities an equity stake when first-time buyers buy privately built new build homes. Another 1,349 people availed of the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant and were also included in the 'affordable purchase' statistics. Just 779 affordable homes were actually built and available to buy. Some 2,147 cost-rental tenancies were also created. Minister Browne said that he 'acknowledged that the number of newly built social homes was below target for 2024 and that he would expect each local authority to do everything possible to meet their targets for 2025'. He also confirmed that he will now publish quarterly performance reports to ' clearly outline how each local authority is delivering on individual targets for new-build social housing'. Minister Browne said: 'To drive home a renewed urgency in delivering social housing, I will be meeting with the chief executives of all 31 local authorities to discuss their targets and plans to bring forward projects on their own land. 'Reaching our overall annual targets is dependent on each local authority meeting their target and we cannot afford for any individual local authority to fall behind.'
