Results 3,761-3,780 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, line 3, after “sale” to insert the following: “, which for the avoidance of doubt, is a dwelling for which no contribution shall be required from a local authority or State body”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be withdrawing amendment No. 1. It is one of my previous drafts from Committee Stage. My preference is to focus on amendments Nos. 10 and 11. This relates to a key concern I have. It was one of the last points we discussed before the Bill was guillotined on Committee Stage. My concern is that the Bill, as drafted, could be construed as suggesting, in respect of Part 5 affordable...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister for walking us through the different elements of the matter. While the contribution is to the purchaser, under section 12(2), it is still defined as an amount. I realise that the later section on affordable housing and equity share makes it clear that the key use of that amount will be for calculating the share but it might be useful, in a belt and braces approach, to...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, line 16, after “arrangements” to insert “, public-public partnership and not-for-profit arrangements”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: With amendment No. 2, I am suggesting that we include public-public partnerships in the different kinds of arrangements that might be made. These may be partnerships between a housing authority and a State body or another public body, or, in some cases, they may be partnerships between different public bodies such as two local authorities or housing authorities developing something in...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister. I will watch the Dáil with interest. As the State rebuilds its housing capacity and knowledge, one of the public partners used may be a housing authority. The Minister mentioned partners. Many of the partners we have discussed have housing as their main focus and they will become partners for a housing authority or something else. However, there is scope...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thank the Minister. I will be happy to withdraw the amendment in this context.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The case has been put very eloquently by Senator Boyhan and, indeed, by everybody. This was probably one of the points of greatest agreement right across the House and everybody supported it. In that regard, it is worth noting that a number of amendments, including some of mine, were withdrawn on the understanding and in the expectation that this amendment from Senator Fitzpatrick would be...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: On a point of order, votes are not obstruction. That is important.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “(7) In performing functions under subsection (1), housing authorities shall have regard to the appropriateness of the location of dwellings in respect of facilitating access to public transport, education services, health services, public amenities and intergenerationally accessible public...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Amendment No. 4 refers to the setting of initiatives in respect of affordable housing and creating arrangements. When we discussed this Bill on Committee Stage one of the points was that many of these pieces of knowledge are what local authorities can put into the mix. The amendment seeks to create an explicit link in terms of housing or local authorities bringing that to bear, thus...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I appreciate that this is good practice, that it is what should happen and that it is what often, although not always, happens. Bearing in mind that there are a number of routes to the provision of affordable housing, I do not have the same confidence in all of them because not all of that housing will be new build. Some of it will be repurposed and some of it will be done under Part V. I...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I just wanted to respond but as I have responded already, that is okay.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 5: In page 9, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(3) Notwithstanding any national regulations which may be set out, a housing authority may specify such additional criteria in respect of the determination of affordability as it believes appropriate and is necessary for the delivery of social and affordable housing within that local...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 6: In page 9, after line 39, to insert the following: “(c) shall require that the dwelling specified meets any criteria for affordability as set out by the Minister or the relevant housing authority, and in setting out such criteria the Minister shall have regard to the median national income.”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 7: In page 10, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(2) The purchase of such open market dwellings may constitute no more than 15 per cent of the affordable housing purchase supported by a housing authority in any given year.”. We had lengthy discussions on open market dwellings on Committee Stage and as to the question of their inclusion,...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I agree that we should use all the tools in our armoury. That is why I have not sought to prohibit open market dwellings. The Minister is saying that the vast majority will be provided through these other means but there is nothing in the legislation to say that this will be the case. I will be frank. What I do not want is for local authorities to be delivering 40%, 50% or 60% of houses...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Yes.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 8: In page 12, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “(8) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (7) and (8), a housing authority may set out additional criteria for eligibility of applicants for a specific affordable housing purchase arrangement with respect to income and asset thresholds and any other dwellings held under an affordable housing...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I had intended to nuance this amendment further by robbing some of the language from Senator Boyhan's amendment No. 9, but I believe I resubmitted the same amendment as previously. This amendment would ensure that housing authorities were able to set additional criteria for applicants in terms of income and asset thresholds. I had expressed a concern about people who did not have a property...