Results 6,421-6,440 of 15,555 for speaker:Eoghan Murphy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy thinks they can be recorded in a different way but that is a different point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: We are not counting it as a new build, so let us not confuse ourselves. That was an impression someone tried to give previously but that is not the case.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: It was always intended to. I separated voids from builds intentionally so the Deputies could see where the voids are located. The previous allegation was that we were counting voids as new builds when they were not; now, we are being accused of counting voids as new stock when they are not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: We are not talking about casual vacancies when we talk about voids. If the Deputy looks at our targets for 2018 he will see we are talking about 560. This number of voids, as we understand them, will no longer exist in about two years. There will not be a line in this regard because we will then be talking about the type of casual vacancies the Deputy is talking about.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Rapid-build housing was initially brought in as a policy response in the context of homelessness but things have changed very quickly since then. Rapid build has almost become the industry standard. One of the things we discussed at the housing summit on Monday was the need to stop separating rapid and non-rapid builds in terms of local authority housing in our minds. The local authority...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: We will see what happens with the income limits and see what might be available. We talk about perverse incentives in the system all the time. We try to develop and design systems that will work to help those who need help. We do not want people to feel that they are worse off because they are working. These are the kinds of traps we try and avoid in designing policies. We are looking at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputy Coppinger. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify some points on the Rebuilding Ireland home loan scheme, which it is not solely for private houses. Local authorities have previously given out mortgages but this scheme is different because it offers a very low fixed rate over the lifetime of the loan, which is quite exciting. It is linked to net disposable income and the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: In that example, repayments would be less than 24% of their net disposable income. To have the certainty that repayments would be less than a quarter of the couple's net disposable income after things such as taxation and other outstanding loans are taken into account is incredible. It is a very good product in that way and will help people buy houses on the private market and as part of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Those people will be able to afford that amount under the scheme and, therefore, it is not unaffordable for them-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: Those houses are affordable under this mortgage scheme for people who can meet the criteria.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The Deputy is misinterpreting my response to her question and I hope she is not doing so intentionally. She stated that houses will be unaffordable for such people under this scheme. I am saying that under the scheme such people will be able to afford these houses, as evidenced in the example I gave, whereby the repayments of that couple would be less than one quarter of their income. That...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: It could be very beneficial for many people across the country.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: We want to get it right and we know that-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: That is why I announced the affordable purchase scheme on the same day. Every measure we have taken to date regarding affordability have been direct supply-side measures such as LIHAF infrastructure funding, the fast-track process of An Bord Pleanála, the new finance body, Home Building Finance Ireland, which will come on line this year or changes in apartment standards and they all aim...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: In response to the Deputy's second question, I have published a statement on this matter that is available on the website. My statement goes into some of the details for the affordable purchase scheme that might not have been covered in the newspapers because, naturally enough, they fixated on this new product of a lifetime - a fixed rate mortgage - which does not exist in today's market....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I welcome Deputy Cowen's commitment to transparency, which I am trying to bring about in my own work. It is good that we are able to publish indicative targets for 2017, and publish them so quickly, that we can confirm with our quarterly construction report that includes all of the figures we have published for 2017. We need to be able to measure what we are doing and what local authorities...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: The housing summit will tell us what the local authorities' targets are for this year and we can measure those against what was actually achieved in 2017.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: I thank Deputy Cowen. I know he is trying to help tie the knot. There are improvements. I have just visited schemes in Waterford; regeneration schemes and new builds and one site where new homes will be completed - Off the top of my head, I cannot remember the total number or the number that were occupied through the year. As they move into different phases on site, they proceed very...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: All of the information is published and is forthcoming. We try to be concerned with the figures-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Update on Rebuilding Ireland - Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Discussion (25 Jan 2018)

Eoghan Murphy: -----and we have improved the figures. I am focused on delivery. Delivery is happening according to the numbers as I publish them. I know that the Deputy is trying to undermine those numbers by claiming that I have reduced the targets to try to meet them. That was not the case but the Deputy did say it in the Dáil.