Results 5,461-5,480 of 26,032 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: We are seeking information from a number of parties on Rehab. Will the clerk inform groups when correspondence has been received from others so we have co-ordination on what has been received and people are aware of the information sought by the committee and what information it has received, so the process is efficient and fair?

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: If I may, I will make an observation. We have received lengthy legal advice on this matter and put the questions clearly to the secretariat's legal adviser, who will attend our meeting. Following all of that, we need further legal advice. There must be due process and fairness. This is a legal issue as well as a parliamentary one. Let us follow due process.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Chairman for the clarification. In all of these discussions, the devil is in the detail. For people who are not aware of Part V, it was introduced by the Department for social and affordable housing. Any developer building a development was required to provide 10% social housing and 10% affordable housing. Developers complied with the Part V obligations by weighting the social...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Was there any social housing in the 250 units?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: In a normal development, where a developer built 100 houses and ten of them were affordable houses sold at a discounted price, how did that system work? What was the financial arrangement? If a house was selling at €200,000 and there was a discount so it was sold to the individual for €160,000, how did it work?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is that at a discounted price?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: The developer did not get the full sale price of the house and got a reduced price.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: If a local authority was buying a house from a developer under the normal affordable housing scheme, the developer only receives the figure of €45 million, the sale price, rather than €77.6 million. The point I am trying to make is that the Department paid the full value of the house, €77.6 million, for affordable housing to the developer. Is that correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: The total value of the development was €77.6 million on the open market. The housing units were sold at €45 million and the balance owing was €31.5 million. The developer was given a site, which was the value he took. It just so happens he was willing to take a site valued on the open market at €17.5 million but he was willing to take the gamble that the site...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: It came to the court. The court made a ruling based on what the houses would have been sold for on the open market, which was €77.6 million. He received €45 million for selling them as affordable housing. The court deemed that he was to be paid €31.5 million and the Department paid him the full going rate for affordable housing.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: When Ms Tallon looks back on that, was it the correct approach? People have differing views on NAMA but, if it had not been established, some €31.5 million of taxpayers money would have gone directly to a private source, not back into NAMA, which is effectively owned by the taxpayer. The structure of the deal was such that he got a value that was the market value at the peak. What...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: That would be an understatement.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: In the limited time I have-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Is this the same developer?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Who was the Taoiseach at the time? What year was that? I need to know the precise date on which the valuation took place.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach at the time.

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: The property was occupied by An Garda Síochána. This was not a vacant site. The Department was extremely lucky that NAMA was formed. If NAMA had not been formed, it would have had money going out of the State purse. That €31.5 million could have been used for day-to-day services within relevant Departments but it has now gone into NAMA. What due diligence was done at the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: That was at the peak and when we saw the water starting to come out of the burst balloon. July 2006 was effectively the peak in terms of valuations. Someone got peak valuation for affordable housing and got a site adjacent to an existing site with the Garda in situ. It was not a vacant possession site. The question I am asking Ms Tallon - is nothing personal; this is what we do here - is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: How did this particular site come up on the radar? Why was this site pursued in June and July 2006?

Public Accounts Committee: 2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 6 - Land Swap Arrangement in the Provision of Affordable Houses
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works (30 Jan 2014)

Kieran O'Donnell: Who advised the Department that this would actually happen?