Results 41-60 of 629 for speaker:Séamus McGrath

Select Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Estimates for Public Services 2025
Vote 16 - Tailte Éireann (Revised)
Vote 23 - An Coimisiún Toghcháin (Revised)
Vote 34 - Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Revised) (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I am straying a little outside the funding elements, I suppose, but many of the delays in planning have been addressed, to be fair, or great work is certainly in progress there, but from what I see, judicial reviews remain the big potential delay in many schemes. The Planning and Development Act 2024 addresses this issue to an extent, but I think more needs to be considered. Is there an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I thank the witnesses for coming in today. I will move straight to it because the clock is ticking and time is limited. I have read the opening statements and tried to prepare as best as I can. Threshold, in its opening statement, states that 3,000 renters with notices to quit contacted it in the first six months of this year. Where does that stand in terms of trends? Is that figure...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: To be fair, Threshold's statement on the recent changes the Government announced for the rental sector is a balanced assessment. Threshold did not welcome every aspect of that announcement but it did welcome many aspects of it, which is good. My time is tight so I must move on. IPAV did not give a positive assessment of the recent changes to the rental sector. Its opening statement is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I am struck by the point made in IPAV's opening statement that few would argue with the view that the rental market is a broken system. Even after these changes, is Mr. Davitt still saying it is a broken system?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: IPAV made the point that smaller landlords are exiting the sector. Does Mr. Davitt see that trend continuing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I will get to the IPOA in the next round.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I will turn to the IPOA at the outset as I did not get to it in the last session. Landlords have contacted me, in particular those classified as large landlords although they may be quite small and have five, six or seven units. Do the witnesses expect a lot of them to exit the market before March because of the changes coming in then?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: Is the IPOA getting a lot of inquiries in that space from those landlords who are classified as large but who are not necessarily institutional landlords? They are ordinary landlords but they have more than four properties.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: Okay. I will quickly turn to the IPAV. In his opening statement Mr. Davitt referred to the negative controls on landlords. He said it needed to turn more towards incentives. He mentioned section 23. Could he elaborate on exactly what incentives he refers to? What is he calling for?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: Is Mr. Davitt saying tax incentives are needed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I will turn very briefly to Threshold. I was going to ask about HAP limits but Deputy Gould asked a question on that. I thank Threshold for the work it does because, as public representatives, we regularly engage with tenants who are in touch with Threshold. When people are served a notice to quit and they present for homeless accommodation, does Threshold notice a trend whereby it is more...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: It is Fine Gael's slot again if there are further questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: One of the issues that is constantly raised with public representatives regarding the RTB involves the delays in resolving complaints or disputes on the landlord and tenant side. Where does the RTB see things now in terms of its timeline for dealing with disputes? Does it see that timeline coming down? It has been said that additional resources are being made available. Could the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: That is very welcome to hear. Is the increase in hearings and tribunals the result of the RTB getting to them sooner or is it the result of an increased number of disputes?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: I wish to pick up on the trend there. The RTB's opening statement indicates there has been a 4.6% increase in the first quarter, which is contrary to much of the commentary we hear about landlords getting out and so on. However, it is fair to say that new tenancies would be disproportionately on the larger landlord side than the smaller landlord side. Would the witnesses agree there is an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: To what extent are unregistered tenancies - landlords who are effectively operating in the black market - an issue across the country?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: Is that number reducing as a result of the RTB campaign?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: Would it be fair to say that those 25,000 are not paying tax on their rental incomes? Would the RTB be able to pick up on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Issues Facing the Residential Rental Sector: Discussion (15 Jul 2025)

Séamus McGrath: If someone is paying tax on his or her rental income, is there a way for the RTB to pick up on the tenancy?