Results 4,341-4,360 of 7,404 for speaker:Mick Wallace

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I have tabled an amendment to this section of the Bill because I have issues with it. The Minister of State has spoken about, and made a play of, the proposal to insert the words "prior to the lodgement of a commencement notice within the meaning of Part II of the Building Control Regulations 1997" after the words "to which the application relates". In the past, there was a problem in this...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: My reading of the Bill is different. Is the Minister of State telling me there will be no debate after planning permission is given? If so, why is he saying that commencement cannot start unless the Part V arrangements have been agreed? Is he telling me now that the manner in which Part V arrangements are decided on will be included as a condition of the planning permission? Is that the case?

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: In that case, some of this does not make sense to me.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I will have another look at it.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I agree with the Minister of State that we cannot eliminate the private sector from the market as that would be madness. However, the point being made was that reliance on an element of the private sector is one thing but over-reliance on it is another. It is no secret that the primary motive of the private sector is profit. That does not mean that all builders are rogues or that they all...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: We have a serious problem in Ireland that is leading to a whole range of other problems, namely, ghettoisation. This issue has never been addressed. The purpose of Part V provision was to address ghettoisation. Deputy Cowen mentioned that 15,000 units were delivered under Part V, one third of which - 5,000 - were social housing units, with the remainder being affordable housing units....

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: Deputies are in broad agreement that the need for the Government to build State housing again has not been greater in our lifetime, even if it was greater in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The financial challenges that have arisen in recent years have prompted the Central Bank to intervene in the market to ensure the days when people were lured into buying property for which repayments could...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I move amendment No. 23:In page 12, to delete lines 18 to 33.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: The Minister of State did not address my point that it would be irrational for landbankers not to mortgage their landbank assets. The Government is telling them that, if the mortgages are of a certain size, it will reduce the levy. I am baffled by how the Government will justify it. This is a no-brainer, another serious loophole, and I will be curious as to how many sites are caught in the...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: The Government is not challenging land hoarding with this Bill. The amendment addresses an aspect that must be changed if the Government has any appetite to challenge land hoarding. A number of large players controls many of the landbanks that are being hoarded. It is amazing how so few people own so much of it. That has been the way for a long time. Most of the land we were building on...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I disagree strongly with the thinking behind this section. I was really surprised to see it in the Bill. What percentage of banked land out there is not mortgaged? I would imagine it is low. As anyone who knows the sector well will confirm, if one had a site worth €2 million and one owed nothing on it, one would mortgage it to get some money. If I have an asset worth €2...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I will press the amendment.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: In a built-up area like Dublin, or in an old city, there will always be many contaminated sites. I have rarely bought a clean one. There was some element of contamination in most of the sites we bought in Dublin. Some were worse than others. Sometimes it was not a huge issue, but sometimes it cost up to €500,000 to clean a site before we could start excavating or piling. Any...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I move amendment No. 13:In page 9, to delete lines 13 to 21.If a site has been bought for development and has been land banked, there should be a levy on it whether it is used or not. The practice of land banking is not being addressed otherwise. If I bought a site with five acres for development, do people honestly believe I would leave over half of that vacant and pay a levy? I would...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: Truth be told, somebody will some day have to address the issue of ownership and property rights in the Constitution. It seems to emerge on a regular basis as a reason for not doing the right thing far too often. We were looking at something similar when there was contemplation of implementing the findings of the Kenny report in the 1970s. Some people would argue that our Constitution gives...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: I find the Minister of State's argument irrational. He said people will not know whether their sites are eligible for the levy. They should first acknowledge their ownership and let the State decide whether they are eligible for the levy. I have argued that every site should be eligible and disagree with all the loopholes. A small percentage of those who own land banks will be caught. It...

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: That is the next one.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: We are talking about a planning authority or appeals board determining whether or not there is a need for housing in a particular area.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: My amendment is to delete lines 26 to 37, inclusive. I realise the relevant section is to do with the register of vacant sites. I disagree with the different loopholes that are being allowed, which is why I have spoken against it.

Urban Regeneration and Housing Bill 2015: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2015)

Mick Wallace: The Minister of State is saying these particular measures will help to stimulate activity in the housing sector. However, requirements such as factoring in house prices in an area will effectively see the invention of a great deal of bureaucracy. It would be much cleaner and involve a lot fewer loopholes if my amendment were adopted. As to stimulating activity, I maintain that in the...