Results 10,921-10,940 of 32,978 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The €8.9 million mentioned is within the discretionary fund.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The NTMA is looking at investments in Ireland in wind, solar and housing. Am I correct that it is investing in private companies that are building houses and apartments?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Is Avestus Capital Partners one of those companies?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I read recently that the NTMA has put €29 million into that company. Am I correct that Avestus was formerly Quinlan?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I ask that question because the same names keep turning up but I will take this up with elsewhere. Avestus proposes to build apartments and houses and the NTMA has invested €29 million in that development. Is that right?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: With the possibility of another €29 million.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Mr. O'Kelly believes that is a good investment because there is a need for rental accommodation.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The article on Avestus references that the rental market has gone off the deep end. It has risen 80%. As of the first quarter of this year rents had surged by 87% in Dublin and 68% in other Irish cities from the low point during the Celtic tiger era. Would Mr. O'Kelly accept that the rental market is totally unsustainable?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Would Mr. O'Kelly accept that rents are unsustainable given the average industrial wage?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Mr. O'Kelly earns his salary, which is a decent salary. I earn my salary. I would not like to be earning the average industrial wage and trying to pay for rented accommodation in Dublin or even earning €50,000 or €70,000 and trying to pay for it. We now have a Government policy through the NTMA of putting more money into specific private companies.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I disagree with that analysis because the State has pulled out of building houses, which was bad and has led to a crisis. In addition, the message from Government is private rented accommodation is very good and there is any amount of public money for it. However, that is a discussion for another day. How much money has the NTMA invested in social and co-operative housing?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: What is the level of investment in co-operative and social housing in comparison with the investment in private companies?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Is the investment in a private company?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: A private company is not social housing. What Mr. O'Kelly has described is investment by the NTMA in a private company and tenants being provided with accommodation in a building owned by the company by way of the housing assistance payment scheme.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: I ask Mr. O'Kelly to note the circularity of what we are doing. Public money is being provided to help the developers. Public money is paid to the tenants and rents are sky rocketing. My question is what money has the NTMA invested in social housing and co-operative housing?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The NTMA has been given a mandate to invest in the economy and to ensure equality within that sustainability yet the organisation sees fit to invest in private companies, developers, to help them make serious profits. Surely, it has a remit to look at public housing provision?

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: None at all.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: The witnesses are saying that vast amounts of public moneys are being channelled through the NTMA into private companies. They are justifying the NTMA's investments, which are causing serious problems in terms of the market.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Some €730 million in private companies.

Public Accounts Committee: 2016 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 23: Accounts of the National Treasury Management Agency
National Treasury Management Agency: Financial Statements 2017 (12 Jul 2018)

Catherine Connolly: Lovely. That is okay. I just wanted clarification on the matter.