Results 3,801-3,820 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is interesting when we speak about landlords to ask who is envisaged and imagined in that. I am glad the Minister of State envisages housing authorities and affordable housing bodies being part of that landlord piece. Nonetheless, some of the narrative around what is needed in terms of security and so forth seems to be framed from the perspective of thinking of the central provider - the...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the amendment.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23: In page 35, line 33, after “plus” to insert “or minus”.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 35, line 39, after “plus” to insert “or minus”.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: Was it combined with the previous grouping of amendments?

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: Apologies; I did not realise that. I would note that amendment No. 25-----

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 36, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(8) A tenant may request a rent review, including a downward review, to reflect a change in the harmonised index of consumer prices and other such circumstances and the mechanisms for making such a request shall be set out by the Minister in regulation.”.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to press the amendment.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the amendment.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I support these amendments, which are extremely reasonable. One of the concerns is that there will be for-profit actors who are required and motivated to maximise the return for their investors in this area and this model is designed for them to be inserted into it. That is a pity because it creates a conflicting tension. In that context, it is important that there be full transparency...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: This goes to the core of the issue. It is one of the tests and it is sensible. Not to go back to previous amendments but with regard to the 90 days and the idea that tenants would be well aware and go in with their eyes open, I presume landlords will also do so. It should not be too much trouble for landlords to give 90 days' notice if they know the date. It would be reasonable to put the...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 29: In page 40, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "41. When there is public land which is made available for the purposes of the development or provision of cost rental dwellings then such dwellings shall revert to public ownership following the termination of the cost rental period or any extension thereof under section 28.".

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: As previously discussed, we are talking about a model whereby investors are able to cash out when the minimum period has expired. A recent article in the Business Post looked at the fact that Ireland has done a lot of work to, effectively, de-risk the market for investors. There is probably no safer investment than that of an investor who knows that tenants are, effectively, guaranteed. A...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am concerned about a phrase used in the response regarding the access to the land being the value that the State has contributed at the beginning. That signals to me that this is envisaged as being the giving of access to public land. The State's relationship with the land is envisaged as being solely at the beginning of the cost calculation. I do not believe that approved housing bodies...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 30: In page 40, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “41.When there is public land which is made available for the purposes of the development or provision of cost rental dwellings, following the termination of the cost rental period, such property will revert to public ownership.”.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 32: In page 43, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “(4) Where there is a more than five per cent inflation in the price of dwellings in the State recorded in any given year, this section shall be suspended for the following calendar year.”.

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: In moving the amendment I will note that it is strange, to say the least, that an amendment might be in order on Committee Stage but then-----

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: Nonetheless, I will speak to my amendment. The other amendments were looking to avoid the mechanism of shared equity. My amendment is a compromise in which I am seeking to insert an internal break mechanism within this portion of the Bill on shared equity. With regard to the idea of shared equity and of the State taking an amount and paying an amount to bridge the gap and allow persons to...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: On the question of who builds houses, the answer is not real estate investment trusts. I live in the city centre and see their offices. They are not building houses. Builders build houses but sometimes that middle tier is what we mean when we talk about developers. In many cases, we are talking about investment funds. I see many things being built. When we are driven by the policies of...

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

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to state that I support the amendment. It is immensely sensible. We had previous debates on the issue. One of the first Bills brought forward by the Civil Engagement Group and a Green Party Member at the time concerned the issue of vacant sites. We sought to increase the vacant site levy at the time. We were told that it was not possible on the advice of the Attorney General, but...