Results 1,421-1,440 of 3,444 for speaker:Shane Cassells

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: I want to delve into that issue. I am trying to understand the reasoning behind these decisions. Mr. McDonagh stated that the properties were subsequently sold, so they were commercially viable properties. Did the local authorities indicate that the properties were not suitable for them?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: I will pose these questions to them but I am trying to get Mr. McDonagh's take on it.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: I acknowledge that difficulty. If I put the list of what NAMA was offering up on my social media account tonight, those properties would be snapped up quickly. The reasoning behind the decisions is key. In some instances, did the Housing Agency indicate it did not have the funds to purchase the units? It was earlier stated that it was short of funds. Was there a funding issue?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: It makes the scenario even worse that no capital was needed upfront to avail of the offer, yet only 2,7000 out of 7,000 units were taken up by our local authorities during a housing crisis. It makes the picture being painted this afternoon even worse. Representatives from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government will be before the committee in a number of weeks specifically...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: That is fine.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: I appreciate Mr. McDonagh can only answer from his perspective. Given the funding was not an issue because NAMA would have taken care of the capital upfront, were the so-called parameters which meant they did not want an over-concentration of so many social housing units in a particular area their guiding rule for the refusal?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: It is unreal. It is unbelievable to think we are in here week in, week out and that there will be a vote of no-confidence in the Minister next Tuesday night, yet we have a situation where only 2,700 of 7,000 units which were going to be paid for upfront and leased back were not taken. It goes back to the discussion on the Housing Agency. I have made this point here before about the...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: These units were subsequently taken up by the private market.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: It was an issue before the crash. I was a councillor for 17 years.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: To finish on that, I want to be perfectly clear that we are talking about completed units. This was not the case of land banks with a potential yield for-----

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: It was not a case that they had to-----

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: NAMA was offering solutions.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: NAMA was offering more and they said, "No." Mr. McDonagh went on to say they were choked of funds. Will Mr. McDonagh explain that? I am trying to square that circle. Was it in the context of the development of land banks? What was it in respect of?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: Mr. McDonagh referred to SDZs. There is a limited number of SDZs in the country. Was NAMA involved in the SDZ in Navan?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: Approximately 70% of the land that remains on NAMA's books is in the Dublin area. With regard to the other 30%, is there engagement with local authorities on the potential scope for those areas?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: May I ask about their attitude? The mind boggles when one considers their attitude towards completed units. They did not have the wherewithal to grasp that potential. What is their attitude now to dealing with NAMA at the height of a crisis and given the fact that the tenure of NAMA is coming to an end?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: On the planning side, with the in-house consultation team NAMA has, what are the implications of the new planning framework for the agency's land? Mr. McDonagh talked about whether it is zoned or unzoned. We have the new regional economic strategies coming down the line, which will lead to significant dezoning in commuter belts where land was potentially overzoned. The impact of these...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: What is the "disruptive strategy"?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: Land will have to be dezoned in Meath.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: In terms of that good relationship, I assume NAMA has a good relationship with the senior planners who scripted that plan and that NAMA conveyed those thoughts to the planners.