Results 4,421-4,440 of 8,212 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Senator Moynihan has put it very well. There is a point I should have made earlier when we were discussing the previous amendment from Senator Boyhan that referenced the bottom 40%. The Minister of State might note that given we are only reserving 10% for affordable housing under Part V, it would be very reasonable to have 10% of developments affordable to the bottom 40% of earners in this...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 35, between lines 24 and 25, to insert the following: “(4) Without prejudice to subsection (5), no rent shall be defined as “cost rental rent” whereby the total amount of such rent would exceed 33 per cent of the applicant’s net income as determined by a housing authority.”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 21: In page 35, line 27, after “plus” to insert “or minus”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The amendments address the mechanisms whereby rent may be changed over a period. It is in that context that I note that there is provision in the Bill for rent to change over a period. Rent is not set and does not remain the same. There are provisions for the changing of rent. For this to work consideration must be given to the previous points made about affordability, which we have...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: It is interesting when we speak about landlords to ask who is envisaged and imagined in that. I am glad the Minister of State envisages housing authorities and affordable housing bodies being part of that landlord piece. Nonetheless, some of the narrative around what is needed in terms of security and so forth seems to be framed from the perspective of thinking of the central provider - the...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 23: In page 35, line 33, after “plus” to insert “or minus”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 24: In page 35, line 39, after “plus” to insert “or minus”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Was it combined with the previous grouping of amendments?

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: Apologies; I did not realise that. I would note that amendment No. 25-----

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 25: In page 36, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following: “(8) A tenant may request a rent review, including a downward review, to reflect a change in the harmonised index of consumer prices and other such circumstances and the mechanisms for making such a request shall be set out by the Minister in regulation.”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I wish to press the amendment.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I support these amendments, which are extremely reasonable. One of the concerns is that there will be for-profit actors who are required and motivated to maximise the return for their investors in this area and this model is designed for them to be inserted into it. That is a pity because it creates a conflicting tension. In that context, it is important that there be full transparency...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This goes to the core of the issue. It is one of the tests and it is sensible. Not to go back to previous amendments but with regard to the 90 days and the idea that tenants would be well aware and go in with their eyes open, I presume landlords will also do so. It should not be too much trouble for landlords to give 90 days' notice if they know the date. It would be reasonable to put the...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 29: In page 40, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "41. When there is public land which is made available for the purposes of the development or provision of cost rental dwellings then such dwellings shall revert to public ownership following the termination of the cost rental period or any extension thereof under section 28.".

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: As previously discussed, we are talking about a model whereby investors are able to cash out when the minimum period has expired. A recent article in the Business Post looked at the fact that Ireland has done a lot of work to, effectively, de-risk the market for investors. There is probably no safer investment than that of an investor who knows that tenants are, effectively, guaranteed. A...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am concerned about a phrase used in the response regarding the access to the land being the value that the State has contributed at the beginning. That signals to me that this is envisaged as being the giving of access to public land. The State's relationship with the land is envisaged as being solely at the beginning of the cost calculation. I do not believe that approved housing bodies...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 30: In page 40, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: “41.When there is public land which is made available for the purposes of the development or provision of cost rental dwellings, following the termination of the cost rental period, such property will revert to public ownership.”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (18 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 32: In page 43, between lines 25 and 26, to insert the following: “(4) Where there is a more than five per cent inflation in the price of dwellings in the State recorded in any given year, this section shall be suspended for the following calendar year.”.