Results 4,461-4,480 of 8,196 for speaker:Alice-Mary Higgins

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 44: In page 13, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “12.Where a dwelling is being made available for affordable purchase under a Part V agreement under section 5(b) that dwelling shall be made available for affordable purchase according to such criteria of affordability as may be set out by the Minister in regulation or by the relevant housing...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: For clarity, amendment No. 46 does not relate to open market dwellings but to Part V housing. The “or (b)” that is being removed relates to Part V housing. I understand and do not have any problem with the intent of the Bill but I have concerns about the drafting. That is why I have gone back and forth and have come at it two or three different ways, which I accept may not be...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: The Minister of State has indicated that he will engage with us between now and Report Stage to clarify the legal language. We all have the same policy intent and we need to ensure that we do not create an ambiguity or any expectation in the language. To allow the Minister of State to come forward with his own tightened or clarifying language, I will withdraw the amendment.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 46: In page 14, line 1, to delete “or (b)”. I note specifically my need for clarification on Part 5.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 48: In page 14, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(5) For the avoidance of doubt, no affordable dwelling contributions shall be required from a local authority in respect of an affordable dwelling made available for sale under a Part V agreement as specified in section 5(b)or section 7(2).”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am happy to yield to Senator Warfield if he wants to reply to that point.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will be brief. Of course there need to be building regulations and things need to be done properly but the concern is that certain structural changes are discretionary and do not require planning permission. Small changes can be made. There is a certain square footage of glass one can add to one's kitchen or whatever. There are things that do not require planning permission. I am all...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This amendment is grouped with No. 59, so all of the amendments get spoken to before the Minister of State speaks to all of them together.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: They are grouped.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I am glad that the Minister of State accepted amendment No. 58. I refrained from engaging on that amendment, which touched on one part of cost rental. In his answer, the Minister of State spoke to the other concern about cost rental. It is a fundamental concern, unfortunately, about how this Bill approaches cost rental in terms of the role of what are referred to as non-Exchequer backed...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I thought it was grouped.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 61: In page 32, line 12, after “dwelling” to insert the following: “, which in any case where a loan is or has been granted by the housing agency shall be not less than 90 years,”.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I will not speak for very long because I thought this amendment was grouped with a previous one so I spoke to it then. The core issue is still my concern about the motivation of the State, local authorities and approved housing bodies in engaging in cost rental as a vehicle for the provision of housing in the long term. It is a totally legitimate motivation, but it is based on returns for...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 63: In page 32, line 19, before “management” to insert “necessary and appropriate”. I am discussing two things here and we can come back to them on Report Stage. The management should be necessary and appropriate management. One of the problems with social housing and the Part V social housing that has been offered in the kinds of mega...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I withdraw in the hope that some version of these may come from the Government on Report Stage.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 64: In page 32, line 21, after “maintenance” to insert “or adaptation”. I withdraw this on the same basis as the preceding amendment.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I move amendment No. 65: In page 32, line 28, after “a” to insert “binding”. It is to insert "binding" and is about strengthening the agreements that might be there. I will withdraw this one and hopefully have a discussion on it within the same suite of discussions. This is around the detail of how the costs and the agreements might operate over a lifetime.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I withdraw it and reserve the right to bring it back on Report Stage.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: This is kind of fundamental. We talked about not having a commercial director involved, and certainly not the commercial director of a real estate investment trust. That is why they want a model wherein, after a period of 40 years, they get an asset in addition to the cash-out and the money along the way. The key thing is that a local authority can have that flexibility. What I like about...

Seanad: Right to Housing: Motion (4 Jun 2021)

Alice-Mary Higgins: I welcome the motion and the fact that a Bill to address this issue was introduced in the Dáil. This is a sign of the momentum and demand that is there in respect of housing. However, I will not deal with the initial parts of the motion. There are counter-motions on the different parts of housing policy, but I will focus primarily on the constitutional referendum. We know the UN...