Latest news with #HousingActivationOffice
RTÉ News
3 days ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
41,000 new homes this year 'very difficult,' says Minister
Minister for Housing James Browne has admitted a pre-general election Government promise to build 41,000 new homes this year is now "very, very difficult" and will be "an extreme climb to reach". For the second time in a week, the Minister conceded the high-profile commitment is now unlikely to happen, a situation which is likely to be further criticised by opposition parties. Speaking to reporters at the long-awaited launch of the St Teresa's housing development in Dublin City, which was first discussed a quarter of a century ago, Minister Browne was asked about the promised 41,000 figure and whether it will be reached. He responded by saying: "The 41,000 figure is very, very difficult." "We're coming off a much lower base from last year than we certainly hoped, so to get from 30,000 up to 41,000 is an extreme climb to reach." Accepting recent Central Bank and ESRI predictions on the situation, he said that most of the organisations who look at these figures are "predicting around 33,000-34,000 at this point, and they seem to be very consistent around that". "It is quite early in the year a lot of homes come on stream towards the end of the year, but I very much believe activating as quickly as possible that supply." Minister Browne's latest admission that the 41,000 figure is unlikely to be met comes after he outlined a similar situation to RTÉ's Prime Time programme on Tuesday. The 41,000 figure has been a repeated target of opposition parties, which have alleged Government ministers publicly contradicted private advice from departmental officials in the lead-up to last year's general election that the 2025 housing prediction would not happen. Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, Minister Browne rejected reports his Department's secretary general Graham Doyle, had told a conference he does not believe a housing tsar is needed. It was reported this week that during a housing event organised by IBEC lobby group Property Industry Ireland, Mr Doyle said while an "interventionalist approach" is needed, "we never, ever used the word tsar". Mr Doyle added that, in a vote at the conference on whether Ireland needed a housing tsar, "I voted no". Responding to questions on the issue, Minister Browne said on four occasions that he believes Mr Doyle is fully "supportive" of the Housing Activation Office and was simply embroiled in "a semantics debate". "Well, I've spoken with the secretary general, he's fully supportive of the creation of the Housing Activation Office and it having a CEO role. "I think what he got into was almost a semantics debate around the description of the role and what it should be called, but he's fully supportive of it. "I've spoken with him since, and his support is very much there." When pressed on the issue, Minister Browne added that while civil servants have their views, "it's the Government which makes the decisions and the Government will be driving on in really key decisions, the Housing Activation Office is one of those". The comments are likely to be of interest to thousands of people who remain in emergency housing accommodation, with the latest monthly homelessness figures due to be published by the Department of Housing this afternoon. Asked about the figures, which were due to be published by his Department this afternoon, Minister Browne said, "I haven't seen them". However, he said, "if you look at homelessness in cities right across the world, even really progressive cities" there is homelessness, and he referenced challenges in Dublin City, including high rents a number of times.
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Minister confirms review of home loan scheme as Kildare house prices exceed borrowing limits
Housing minister James Browne has confirmed a review has taken place into a council-led loan scheme after affordable houses in Kildare were found to be above the borrowing threshold. The review comes after reports of affordable homes in Kildare being ineligible for the Local Authority Home Loan scheme, as the cost of the houses is above the threshold at which people can borrow. 'I have asked for a review to be carried out around the home loan scheme to make sure it matches across the country in terms of those limits,' Mr Browne said. 'Those proposals are with me now, they actually already arrived yesterday. I'll be making a decision on those very rapidly.' The eight affordable homes in question, at Lattin Place in Naas, first went on sale earlier this week. Three types of houses are available, with a two-bed mid-terrace starting at €295,000, a three-bed mid-terrace starting at €365,000, and a three-bed end-terrace starting at €370,000. However, in Kildare, the maximum property value to allow someone to access the Local Authority Home Loan is €360,000. Mr Browne said he wanted to see the limits increased 'where they need to be increased' to remove any disparity around the Local Authority Home Loan scheme. Housing minister James Browne has confirmed a review has taken place into a council-led loan scheme. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos He admitted that the scheme was not aligned in Kildare, but he was not aware of any other specific situations where the threshold did not align with the cost of an affordable home. 'I want to try and get them aligned so that we don't have this type of disparity because I know it causes stress for families… I don't want that situation happening,' Mr Browne said, following reports in the Irish Times. 'The Government is spending record funding on delivering housing, on supporting people to get those homes. So that misalignment, I certaintly want to see an end and intend to bring an end to that.' Meanwhile, Mr Browne has said the secretary-general at the department of housing, Graham Doyle, is 'fully supportive' of the creation of the Housing Activation Office. It followed comments from Mr Doyle on Thursday, where he said there was no need for a 'housing tsar'. The term has become widely associated with whoever is due to lead the new Housing Activation Office. However, Mr Browne said Mr Doyle had only gotten into a 'semantics debate' about the description of the job and 'what it should be called'. 'He's fully supportive of it. I've spoken with him since and his support is very much there,' Mr Browne said. 'It is the Government that makes the decisions and the Government will be driving on with really key decisions. The Housing Activation Office is one of those.' Read More Taoiseach and President warn Ireland is target of Israeli propaganda over Gaza stance
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Daily Mirror
Browne weighs in on Sec Gen's suggestion that 'housing tsar' role not necessary
Housing Minister James Browne has defended his Secretary General after he suggested there was no need for the controversial housing tsar. It came just hours after Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said that all Secretaries General would have to implement any decision made by the Government. At an event held by Property Industry Ireland (PII) earlier this week, Department of Housing Secretary General Graham Doyle said he did not see the need for a "housing tsar" for the new Housing Activation Office. The role was plunged into controversy after NAMA boss Brendan McDonagh pulled out of the race following ongoing discussion about his €430,000 salary. According to the Business Post, when talking about freeing up housing blockages, Mr Doyle said: "We don't need a tsar to do all of that. And we never, ever used the word tsar." The term "housing tsar" was used by Minister Browne in an interview with the Sunday Independent. Speaking at a sod turning at the new Land Development Project at Donore in Dublin 8, Minister Browne stated that he had spoken to Mr Doyle and his grievance was with the 'housing tsar' title rather than the position itself. He said: "[Mr Doyle is] fully supportive of the creation of the Housing Activation Office and it having a CEO role. "I think what he got into [at the conference] was almost a semantic debate about the description of the role and what it should be called. "But he's fully supportive of it. I've spoken with him since and his support is very much there. "But it is the Government that makes the decisions and the Government will be driving on with really key decisions. "The Housing Activation office is one of those, to have that team on the ground, unlocking sites and making sure that the utilities are matching up with the local authority and where we need homes built as quickly as possible. "It was a debate around the title is where he was going with it." Mr Browne admitted that the debate about the title 'housing tsar' has been a 'frustration for myself' and he wants to focus on appointing a CEO. He added: "Whatever anybody wants to call it, that's a matter for them. I very much see it as a team leader on the ground. "I'm, as the minister, responsible for strategy, responsible for policy, responsible for oversight of the housing activation office. I will be doing that." Mr Browne first told the Sunday Independent in February that the Housing Activation office would be headed up by "that type of housing tsar I suppose, although it's not a phrase I would personally use." Elsewhere, Minister Browne was asked about reports in Friday's Irish Times that houses for sale in an affordable housing scheme in Kildare are priced too high to qualify for the local authority's home loan scheme for affordable housing. He said that he wants to ensure that these schemes "align," and they were "clearly not aligning". The Fianna Fáil TD for Wexford stated that he had asked for a review to be carried out of the home loan scheme to make sure it "matches across the country in terms of those limits". The proposals landed on his desk on Thursday, and a decision will be made "rapidly" to "get the review carried out and finished and get those limits increased where they need to be increased". Minister Browne said he "wouldn't be surprised" if the disparity existed in other parts of the country. He added: "But absolutely that disparity, I'm not happy with that, and I'm going to have that addressed."
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Profits at Hugh Wallace architect firm rise to over €176,000
New accounts show the post-tax profits for the 12 months to the end of June last followed a figure of €166,678 in the prior year. Douglas Wallace Consultants Ltd paid dividends of €57,412 last year. This followed a dividend payout of €30,000 in 2023. 'Business was very good last year. Very stable,' Mr Wallace said. Hotel and leisure business returned, he said, after it was decimated during the Covid-19 pandemic with the main work in the sector now refurbishments. Mr Wallace said the company is involved in house building in Dublin, Cork, Sligo and Dungarvan. 'We were not in the residential space four or five years ago,' he said. The company is also the designer of Harcourt Developments' €200m redevelopment of the North Quays in Waterford city that recently secured planning permission from Waterford City Council. The plans include 350 apartments across six blocks and a nine-storey 160-room hotel. Mr Wallace said the company employs 24 people, with the majority of those architects and architect technicians. Accumulated profits at Douglas Wallace Consultants Ltd at the end of June last totalled €702,147, while cash funds declined from €315,982 to €217,498. ADVERTISEMENT Mr Wallace said the hiring of 'super Marios' for the Government's Housing Activation Office was not the answer to addressing the current crisis. Rather than having a Housing Activation Office, he said the Land Development Agency (LDA), when it was established, should have been granted powers to address the housing crisis 'and make it more robust and give it proper authority'. Mr Wallace dismissed the Government's Housing Activation Office as 'just another quango'. He said the largest bottlenecks today in the effort to build more housing are securing finance from lenders and the cost of construction. 'They are interlinked. Planning is a bottleneck as well, but not to the same extent as these two issues. The banks are not lending.' Mr Wallace said he advises clients that planning for projects may take up to two years and 'they can't understand why this should be the case'.
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Architectural firm of Home of the Year judge records €176,408 profit for 2024
The architectural firm co-owned by Hugh Wallace, a judge on RTÉ ratings winner Home of the Year, has recorded post tax profits of €176,408 last year. New accounts show that the post-tax profits of €176,408 for the 12 months to the end of June last followed post-tax profits of €166,678 in the prior year. Douglas Wallace Consultants Ltd paid out dividends of €57,412 last year and this followed a dividend payout of €30,000 in 2023. In an interview, Mr Wallace said: 'Business was very good last year. Very stable.' He said that the hotel and leisure business is back after it was decimated during the covid pandemic with the main work in the sector now refurbishments. Mr Wallace said that the company is now involved in house building in Dublin, Cork, Sligo and Dungarvan and 'we were not in the residential space four or five years ago'. The company is also the designer of Harcourt Development's €200m redevelopment of the North Quays in Waterford city that recently secured planning permission from Waterford City and Council. The plans include 350 apartments across six blocks and a nine-storey, 160-room hotel. Mr Wallace said that 'roadblocks' in house building are the implementation of building regulations and fire regulations. He said that the company employs 24 with the majority architects and architect technicians. Accumulated profits at Douglas Wallace Consultants Ltd at the end of June last totalled €702,147 while cash funds declined from €315,982 to €217,498. Housing crisis Asked to comment on measures to combat the housing crisis, Mr Wallace stated that the hiring of 'Super Marios' for the Government's Housing Activation Office is not the answer in addressing the crisis. Mr Wallace said that rather than having a Housing Activation Office, the Land Development Agency (LDA) when it was established should have been granted the powers to address the housing crisis 'and make it more robust and give it proper authority'. Mr Wallace dismissed the Government's Housing Activation Office as 'just another quango'. He said that the largest bottlenecks today in the effort to build more housing are securing finance from lenders and the cost of construction. He said: 'They are interlinked. Planning is a bottleneck as well but not to the same extent as these two issues. The banks are not lending.' Mr Wallace said that he advises clients that the planning for projects may take up to two years and 'they can't understand why this should be the case'. Read More Home of the Year winners share secrets to creating a dream dwelling
