Latest news with #Taaffe
Extra.ie
21-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Compulsory purchase of lands needed to reach our housing goals
Local authorities have warned that they will not be able to meet housing targets without extra powers to use compulsory purchase orders to acquire land. The Oireachtas Housing Committee has been told that the State needs to have greater control over land in order to control the housing supply. And the chair of the County and City Management Association (CCMA), Eddie Taaffe, cautioned that some local authorities face the prospect of running out of land to build on by 2028 and 2029. Overview of a new housing development. Pic: Getty Images Local councils have identified more than 560 land banks that have capacity for 21,500 homes, but fewer than one third (28%) of these can proceed 'due to inadequate access to essential services such as water, wastewater and electricity'. Mr Taaffe warned that without adequate levers to provide land to home builders, there will not be an adequate pipeline. Compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) have not been a prominent feature in recent times, as local authorities had sufficient land banks on which to build. New homes / Housing / For sale. Pic: Getty Images However, Mr Taaffe said that they are now looking at their land banks and housing delivery for 2028 and 2029 and realising that there isn't enough land and that acquiring serviced land is very difficult. CPOs will be needed to give 'certainty' to local authorities despite the added cost associated with them, he said. 'CPOs are more expensive. There is a risk. You have to pay market rate – plus a percentage – because under CPO rules you have to pay for disturbance and investment costs,' said Mr Taaffe. Pic: georgeclerk/Getty Images Local authorities have delivered 24,000 social homes over the period of the current Housing for All programme from 2022 to date, but face significantly increased targets of 12,000 per annum under the new Programme for Government. Mr Taaffe says hitting these targets will not be possible without substantially increased levels of investment from the Government. 'The new Programme for Government sets out a clear ambition of delivering 12,000 new social homes each year through local authorities and approved housing bodies (AHBs). This will therefore require a 50% increase in annual output – a scale-up that is simply not feasible without urgent structural support,' he said. Minister for Housing James Browne will instruct local authorities to rezone more land for housing in their development plans later this year. Minister for Housing James Browne. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins It is expected this will be done by Christmas, but Mr Taaffe said that there is a limited amount of serviced land available. He also stated that there is a need for utility investment plans to be fully aligned with local housing strategies. He remarked: 'Uisce Éireann and the ESB must coordinate with local authorities to proactively service land in strategic growth areas. 'The CCMA believes that housing delivery must be backed by dedicated, ring-fenced infrastructure funding, aligned with the investment strategies of key utility providers. 'Infrastructure and utilities must be delivered in tandem with housing to avoid bottlenecks and to unlock development-ready land and accelerate delivery timelines.' Pic: File Staffing levels in the housing capital building divisions in local authorities were branded a 'huge issue' by Mr Taaffe. A process of quantifying what level of staff is needed beyond the existing 1,100 is currently ongoing. 'The single biggest constraints are the availability of land and funding of staff to local authorities to progress projects on those lands,' Mr Taaffe said. A spokeswoman for Minister Browne said that he is committed to reforming the CPO system as promised in the Programme for Government. 'There's an archaic system at the moment, and it needs reform. Minister Browne wants to make it both more effective and more efficient,' she said. 16/11/2022 Minister of State James Browne TD during the announcement of the Government's approval to publish the Family Court Bill and first National Family Justice Strategy at Government Buildings, Dublin. This development marks a significant step towards reform of the Family Justice System and improving access to justice, as committed to by the Programme for Government and Justice Plan 2022. Photo: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos The spokeswoman added: 'It's far too slow. It is delaying the delivery of critical infrastructure for the delivery of housing, and what's there at the moment is difficult to navigate and is outdated. 'The minister wants to make the process actually responsive, the way it needs to be and fit for purpose. But any reform of CPO has to be transparent for councils and property owners.' Successive governments have struggled to hit their social and affordable housing new-build targets. A total of 9,300 new-build social homes were targeted under the Government's Housing for All plan for 2024. These are homes directly built by local authorities or AHBs. However, just 7,871, a shortfall of 1,429 (15%), were built last year. Last week, Taoiseach Micheál Martin condemned a 'dependency culture' in councils that seek 'handouts' of tens of thousands of euros to fill vacant social homes in the Dáil. The Fianna Fáil leader sharply criticised local authorities for seeking up to €60,000 to prepare vacant homes to be re-let, as the country grapples with the housing crisis. In some areas, properties can lie vacant for over a year, but Mr Martin insisted this should 'never' happen for longer than a month. More than € 100 million was spent refurbishing more than 3,500 council homes to re-let them in 2023 alone, according to the most recent data. Much of this relates to properties left vacant when a tenant dies or moves on, with councils required to refurbish them, but the Taoiseach said such large sums should not be needed to bring the homes out of vacancy. Mr Martin said: 'It is not always about handouts. You can go around certain local authority estates and see six vacant houses. Millions are not needed to put those houses back into use. 'They should never be vacant for beyond a month. I am not just saying this now; I have said this to local authorities time and again. We have taken void initiative after void initiative. 'Voids are houses that have been out of the market for over a year and are generally in disrepair. Mr Martin added: 'The dependency culture kicks [in], that they will fill a void if given €50,000 or €60,000… If a house is idle because someone left it a month ago, it should be allocated again. We are in a housing crisis.' Mr Martin was backed up by Fine Gael councillor Jimmy McLearn, a member of the Association of Local Government, who said there was a 'lack of understanding' in councils as to the scale of the challenge in housing, and that 'there shouldn't be'. Around 3,500 local authority homes on average become vacant every year. Houses can also lie vacant because they are going to be demolished and replaced with new developments. Councils are legally obligated to furnish and fit out homes they own to a certain standard under the Standard for Rented Houses Regulations, which were set in 2019.
Irish Examiner
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Councils must focus on increasing land portfolio to provide housing, Oireachtas hears
Local councils only have enough land banks for social housing delivery to last the next three to four years, the Oireachtas Housing Committee has heard. Eddie Taaffe, chairman of the County and City Management Association (CCMA) committee on housing, said local authorities have over 560 landbanks suitable for housing, which can be used to deliver around 21,500 homes. However. Mr Taaffe said 28% of these sites are unable to be progressed at present due to a lack of services, including water, wastewater, and electricity. 'Local authority land banks are probably sufficient for the medium term only, as in you know, the next three, possibly four years of delivery at best,' Mr Taaffe said. 'That's assuming that the lands that aren't serviced will come on and be serviced in that time.' Mr Taaffe said there is a need for councils to start rebuilding up their land banks, citing existing land acquisition funding available to local authorities. However, he said the CCMA has heard from councils the amount of zoned and serviced land coming on the open market is small. So what we really do need to get involved in if we are to guarantee and build up our land banks is to get back into the compulsory purchase orders again. 'They take time to do but that is really the only method that gives you the certainty that you can get the land', he said. Meanwhile in the Dáil, the Taoiseach was questioned about comments made in this newspaper by Housing Minister James Browne about Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs). Mr Browne told the Irish Examiner that while the Government will soon be changing RPZs, he still aims to protect renters. However, Social Democrats TD Rory Hearne said the comments need to be explained. "How can the Government agree to lifting rent caps in the middle of a housing emergency? Renters need to know," Mr Hearne said. "Given what is going on, there should be a commitment to keep the rent caps and the rent pressure zones in place for a minimum of three years to give renters some security. Regardless of the questions of institutional investors and supply, renters need that." In response, Micheál Martin said changes to the rent caps had been suggested by The Housing Commission's report. "I do not know why [Mr Hearne] is condemning the Government for even considering the recommendation of the Housing Commission in respect of that issue."
Sunday World
20-05-2025
- Sunday World
Shoplifter stole €2.5k of groceries in two ‘organised' thefts from Dunnes Stores
Patrick Taaffe (49) stole a combined €2,500 worth of goods in the two incidents A shoplifter twice walked out of a supermarket with a trolley filled with more than €1,000 worth of groceries in thefts that showed an 'unusual level of organisation.' Patrick Taaffe (49) stole a combined €2,500 worth of goods in the two incidents. Judge Catherine Ghent said they were 'not ordinary' thefts and adjourned the case at Dublin District Court for the production of a probation report. Taaffe, of Captain's Drive, Crumlin, pleaded guilty. Taaffe had beaten a drug problem previously but had 'a slip' at the time, his solicitor Michael Kelleher said Garda Ben Forde said he was called to Dunnes Stores, Ashleaf Shopping Centre, on June 28 last year and viewed CCTV. Some €1,200 worth of goods had been stolen on June 27 and €1,300 worth on June 24. The garda identified the accused, who had 53 previous convictions. Taaffe had beaten a drug problem previously but had 'a slip' at the time, his solicitor Michael Kelleher said, Judge Ghent said it was unusual for such large and similar amounts of goods to be taken within days of each other and it seemed more 'organised' than the usual shoplifting. Mr Kelleher said it was reckless to walk out of a shop with such a large trolley of goods and Taaffe took a huge chance of getting caught. Dublin court. Stock image News in 90 Seconds - May 20th
Irish Independent
12-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Wexford County Council ‘confident' it will ‘over-deliver' on housing targets set by government
At a special council meeting held to discuss housing delivery in Co Wexford, Mr Taaffe said WCC was on track to exceed the targets set under the government's Housing For All programme which runs from 2022-26. 'Our target for that time period is 1150 builds and 855 of those have been delivered so far,' he said. 'We hope to deliver a further 628 by the end of 2026, that would bring us to approximately 1400 which would be around 30 per cent over our target. However, the message from the department (of housing) has always been that those targets are a minimum requirement and that is the way we have treated them. So we are confident we will over-deliver on those numbers.' Providing some up-to-date figures, Mr Taaffe said the 2024 target for the council was 189 properties of which 56 have been 'delivered to date'. 'We hope to deliver a further 257 this year which would bring us to over 300. Next year our target is 193 and we hope to deliver in excess of 350,' he added. While WCC is continuing to work on housing projects across the county, Mr Taaffe explained that there were a number of ways those on the social housing list could be provided with accommodation. 'People think the only way they're going to get a house is through a new construction, but that's not reflective of our total allocations,' he said. 'Generally we allocate 400-500 properties per year. In 2022 we allocated 611, that was a mixture of new builds, re-lets, transfers, houses from approved housing bodies (AHBs), and a small number of mortgage to rent. 'Under the Housing For All programme approximately 60 per cent of new social houses are to be delivered by local authorities with the remaining 40 per cent provided by AHBs. At the moment we're closer to 50/50, but in the later stages of the programme we will be increasing our own builds.' In addition to these projects, Mr Taaffe said WCC was now in the process of developing affordable housing schemes throughout the county. Under the affordable housing scheme local authority-provided homes are available at a reduced price for first-time buyers whose combined mortgage and deposit will not cover the market price of the newly built home. One such scheme is now 'up and running' in Ramsfort with two smaller schemes in Enniscorthy set to provide 30 homes and one in Wexford town providing ten.
RTÉ News
25-04-2025
- Health
- RTÉ News
'Amazing' - Dublin woman says running helped drug recovery
A Dublin woman who "hit rock bottom" due to drugs is now running half marathons with her daughter, who she lost connection with while in the throes of addiction. Fiona Taaffe, from Kilmore, completed her first Dublin City Half Marathon alongside her daughter, Karinann, last month. Six years into recovery, the 57-year-old said Coolock Running Club has been "amazing" in her rehabilitation, as it pushes her to achieve goals that she never thought possible. "When I first started, I couldn't run for the life of me," she said. "But I was running all my life away from pain," she added. Coolock Running Club will host the fourth year of the 'Another Way 5K' at Darndale Park tomorrow at 11am, which aims to highlight the availability of help for those involved with drugs and criminality. It is part of a local campaign to "get the message out" on the alternatives to addiction. Ms Taaffe said she had been in some form of addiction for 30 years. "I didn't know what addiction was. I thought if you weren't shooting up heroin, you weren't an addict," she said. "But there were times I was found wandering around out of my head on tablets," she added. Following the breakdown of her marriage, her substance abuse became worse, and Ms Taaffe said she chose drugs over her children, which has caused her "a lot of shame and guilt". "Karinann saw things no child should have to see. I'd go to the pub, probably leave her on her own, and come back and have a party in the house," she said. When gardaí were called to the house, Ms Taaffe said she was presented with an ultimatum - either her daughter would have to be cared for by other family members or be taken into State care. Following this, Karinann was looked after by an aunt. Karinann said: "When I knew how deep my mam was in addiction, I didn't want to know her. "But even though I had so much resentment and anger, I think I still held hope." Following a family intervention in 2019, Ms Taaffe began the recovery process and stayed at Cuan Mhuire Treatment Centre in Co Limerick. Karinann supported her mother throughout the process and their relationship began to repair. Ms Taaffe said she promised herself that she would never lie to her daughter again and would do her best to never hurt her again. 'Making up for time lost' Karinann said she no longer holds resentment but had "a wall up" when her mother came out of treatment, as she was constantly worried that she would start using drugs again. However, when her mother joined Coolock Running Club she could see it gave her purpose and was significantly helping sustain her recovery. "I'd see people out running and think I'd love to do that, but self-doubt would kick in and I'd think I wasn't good enough," Ms Taaffe said. She said that after learning breathing and mindset techniques from the club coaches, running has become a regular habit. "I was told it was me against me," she said. Ms Taaffe credits the support of club members for keeping her going. When she ran her first 5k, they came back to pull her over the line and cheer her on. After running a 10k, she booked a place in the Dublin Half Marathon in March this year and Karinann decided to join her. Ms Taaffe said Karinann phoned her during the race and with 3km left to run when was struggling. "She stayed on the phone the whole way through and pushed and pushed and pushed me," she said. "I knew I couldn't let her stop," Karinann said, adding: "If I could just get her to the point and then bring her to where the running club were. "And when she saw their faces, that they stuck around and waited for her to cross that line, it was unbelievable." Ms Taaffe and her daughter said they are now "making up for time lost". "It's hard to see someone you love be so sick," said Karinann. "If there is a part of you, no matter the anger you hold toward that person, just hold on to that hope because I think that's what got me through," she added. Ms Taaffe said she thinks she has done "amazing things" in recovery. She said her message to other people in addiction is to reach out for the "loads of help" available. "But you have to want the help," she said, adding "most people say you have to hit rock bottom. I hit rock bottom and then there was another rock bottom beneath that". "I'm so grateful the help was there. Don't suffer in silence like I did because there's an amazing life out there," she said. The Another Way 5K is a collaboration between Coolock Running Club, local community organisations, the Get The Message Out group and endurance athlete Ger Redmond. The success of the Another Way 5K event prompted Mr Redmond and his friend Anthony Brady to establish the club in 2023. Running played a huge part in transforming Mr Redmond's life after imprisonment for involvement with drugs. It is one of a number of projects backed by the Darndale Implementation Oversight Group, a Dublin City Council initiative to tackle complex and engrained issues in Darndale. Dr Jack Nolan, chair of the group, said such events are needed to show communities affected by drugs that they are not forgotten. "Darndale Another Way 5K encourages people to consider a different way of life by highlighting opportunities, services and activities available," Dr Nolan said.
