Results 2,621-2,640 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: There is the possibility of a surplus of money after the dissolution of the DDDA. How should that surplus be used?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: The remit of the DDDA was social regeneration, which was very ground-breaking at the time because previously the focus had been on the physical regeneration rather than on the community. I imagine the argument will be made that the pension contributions currently with the DDDA should be transferred to the Department to increase the surplus available. Would the community agree with that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: Previous evidence given to this committee suggests that while the pension liabilities will not fall for approximately ten years, they are a financial liability. If that liability were taken out of the surplus, there would be less surplus money from the winding up of the DDDA. Have the witnesses examined those figures in detail and have they recommendations on how they would be broken down?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: Have those conversations about creating a pot of money to be invested in social regeneration taken place within the committee and working with the DDDA?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: It might be an interesting discussion to have with the DDDA from the community's point of view.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: In order to try to generate the maximum pot of money, it is important the community representatives and the DDDA have that discussion before it is dissolved. If long-term pension liabilities are taken into consideration it would reduce the possible surplus. I am suggesting a course of action to the community.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: I might have to give it directions. That is probably not my role. Communities need to build a pot of money. Within the strategic development zone, SDZ, which is not for discussion at this meeting, the levies are site-specific. The communities, DCC and the Department will have to examine the broader prospects of securing a pot of money. There are major developers and NAMA in a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: The 20% local employment social clause has been a minor success. I have lived in the docklands all my life and there has always been an emphasis in the communities, rather than on the part of community representatives, on trying to secure short-term construction jobs, which I always questioned. We had some successes through the business forum of the DDDA. Should there be a greater emphasis...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: A number of these issues were dealt with at previous hearings. There are a number of legacy issues. For example, there is a complicated clawback relating to affordable housing involving the DDDA, especially in the later schemes. Would the community like that to be addressed in the legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: I am not sure how many units are in the housing trust. Size and sustainability are issues. Is the housing trust an adequate size for it to be sustainable if sinking funds, etc., are included in the Bill? Sometimes a certain number of units is necessary to make a housing trust sustainable. Is the housing trust large enough to bear the costs?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: I do not want Mr. Lambe to misunderstand me. In the voluntary housing sector, one needs momentum and a certain number of units for sustainability. Some of the smaller voluntary housing agencies, especially in rural Ireland, that set up with 50, 60 or 70 units, ran into serious financial trouble because they needed to spread their costs over a large number of units and structures which, as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: I thank everybody for their attendance today and their contributions. The record of this session will go on the website and will be built into the final report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: The meeting is resuming. We are in public session. We are considering the General Scheme of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014 with representatives of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I welcome the following witnesses to the meeting: Mr Paul Dunne, principal officer, local government HR; Mr. Francis Walsh, local government...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: I thank Mr. Dunne for his presentation. There is a legacy issue with regard to affordable housing and a complicated clawback. This clawback is measured as an asset of the DDDA because of complicated structures. Will the Department consider allowing an out clause for people with this legacy problem so the affordable housing can be dealt with in a similar way to how it is dealt with under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: For clarity, later affordable housing schemes were much more complicated than those of the local authorities. It was never expected that property prices would drop. Will Mr. Dunne give further consideration to tidying up this matter, whereby the affordable housing scheme could mirror those of local authorities?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: The issue is with regard to the clawback. To give an example, if a unit was valued at €500,000 and sold as part of an affordable housing scheme for €250,000 the asset is the differential of €250,000. This has reduced over 20 years but is counted as an asset of the authority. Will Mr. Dunne examine this and see whether a provision can be inserted in the Bill? I would...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: Currently, a master plan and a set of policies have been agreed between the local community and the DDDA. However, head 6 basically proposes a consultative forum without a policy implementation element. Can the consultative forum be strengthened to allow it to devise development policies that must be adhered to within the docklands area? I am not necessarily referring to the strategic...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: The community groups that presented referred to a one-stop-shop for businesses looking to set up in the docklands. There would be an identifiable community gain in such an initiative. The consultative forum would set down terms and policies in this regard, allowing companies entering the area to know immediately what was expected of them. Could this proposal to strengthen the legislation...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: Mr. Dunne is correct, in that it is a balanced approach, but consider what is happening in the city. Obviously, Dublin is important to the national recovery, but the docklands area is important to Dublin's regeneration. The majority of brownfield sites are in that area and it has an indigenous community. I support the democratic element represented by the councillors as well as the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of Dublin Docklands Development Authority (Dissolution) Bill 2014: Discussion (10 Jun 2014)

Kevin Humphreys: The local and business communities in the docklands area are concerned that levies can only be spent on specific sites in the SDZ. To allow for social regeneration, however, a pot of money must be invested in education, community services or capital programmes. A fund was available under the DDDA. Under the Bill, however, no such funding is allowed. Some of the witnesses are involved in...