Results 14,441-14,460 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay. We're all right.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Yes.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Thank you very much. I'll just take a couple of questions myself there, Mr. O'Flynn, and it's been indicated to me that some members might want to have a very short break, a comfort break, at that time. Mr. O'Flynn, would you describe yourself as a developer or a builder or is there a difference?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: I want to focus on the building aspect in a moment. Were you a land speculator at any time?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay. And did you speculate at any-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: On the building side of it, I want to move to the present, and then maybe work a bit backwards and we'll go back into NAMA and all the rest of it. In testimony recently with the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, last week, one of the issues that he repeated over and over was to increase supply, increase supply, during the crisis years. However, we know that even with the increase in supply...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: But at affordable levels is the question I'm asking, Mr. O'Flynn? Is-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Maybe if I can ... maybe if I can reshape the question?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: There's a difference between returning to a sustainable construction programme, where it's 12% of the economy, as opposed to 24%, but there is a question as well that has to be put, that we, we ... recovery does not mean prices of back in the heady days of 2005, 2006 and 2007?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: This brings me to my next question.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay, and-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: And by, by the mid-2000s that's exactly where we were, in that the typical Garda, nurse, or whatever, were not able to afford to buy your product, and-----

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Can you just hear me out a second?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Thank you. The State, through Part V and other measures, as you mentioned, made interventions and, in the Cork region, that both you and I would be familiar with, we saw affordable housing which is social housing, which is subsidised to allow people to have the ambition realised to buy a home exceeding €200,000 and so forth. So, on the basis that there was an affordability issue, as...

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: Okay. Going back into the future, again, is there a Rubicon that gets passed, that when the average household couple earnings ... that the price of the average home that would be in their affordability range passes a ratio point that we have an unsustainable model again?

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: In the new building market, now.

Committee of Inquiry into the Banking Crisis: Nexus Phase (22 Jul 2015)

Ciarán Lynch: All right. Mr. O'Flynn, there was a nine-month time lag from the announcement of NAMA to the enactment of the enabling legislation and a further few months before business loans began to be transferred from the banks. Now, you've spoken in general, but I just ... this specific aspect of it, did this time lag have any particular effects on your business, and, if so, please elaborate?