Results 1-20 of 2,037 for speaker:Pat Casey

Seanad: Insurance Reform: Motion (10 Jun 2025)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State to what is a very important debate on insurance. Fianna Fáil welcomes this debate on insurance and will be supporting the motion. In Government, we are committed to tackling insurance costs to reform and ensure fair competition in all sectors. Since 2020, we have delivered a series of reforms under the action plan for insurance reform. While...

Seanad: Ireland's Economic Outlook: Statements (28 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister to the Seanad Chamber. He has always made himself available to the House. I welcome the opportunity to discuss Ireland's economic outlook. We are at a critical juncture for our economy and global trade. It is essential that we approach these challenges from a position of strength and resilience. Over the past few years, Ireland has demonstrated remarkable...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I thank both organisations for their presentations today. They identified that a number of pillars need to be sorted in regard to housing. No one pillar is actually functioning as it should. I will run through them quickly. One relates to zoned land. I was on the housing committee when we adopted the last national planning framework. Personally, I had several arguments with Niall Cussen...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: In regard to infrastructure, while we want to align with the national planning framework policy, I believe we need to zone land out beyond 2040 so that we know where we want housing built and can align the correct infrastructure with that. What is the witnesses' view on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: In regard to planning, is it now time to introduce time-bound decisions in relation to Irish Water and the ESB?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I am trying to focus on things we can change immediately to try to improve all aspects of it. On the financing side, because financing is a critical part of it, we need both sides of it. We need demand, otherwise there would be no supply and we need supply to equal the demand. There is a deficiency in relation to private or capital investment in housing. Can we do more in this space to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: Briefly, on the demand side----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: There are two main schemes, help to buy and first home shared equity. The latter is not a grant, by the way, but is a debt that has to be repaid. Is there scope under the rent to own scheme to help in the context of apartments, so that there is somebody at the end of the line to buy them? Is there anything in that space?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: Bringing them both together, I suppose, is the thing.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I mentioned earlier that anybody with a brain in their head would have seen what was going to happen last year whereby, when an incentive was coming to an end, there was always going to be a surge in commencements, and that is reflecting what is happening. There is also uncertainty out there relating to Government policy. Is that also preventing commencements happening? Might there be hope...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I will move on to the rental sector, because I did not mention it earlier. I was surprised that 60% of tenants had experienced no rent increase. Were the witnesses surprised by that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: Regarding upcoming legislation for the rental sector, what are the ESRI's views on the short-term letting legislation as proposed and how will it impact on the rental sector?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage: Challenges Relating to the Delivery of Housing: Discussion (Resumed) (27 May 2025)

Pat Casey: On the issue of apartments, financing and supply and demand, we need to try to find a balance. Clearly, the help-to-buy and first-home schemes are not applicable in Dublin because the properties are above €500,000 in value. They do not have a role there. Institutional investors will all want to know whether we can apply a scheme for renting homes to try to help that side of it....

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Dissolution of National Asset Management Agency: Discussion (21 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I welcome the few councillors here from Wexford. They are gone now, so I do not have to welcome them. I also welcome Mr. McDonagh. I refer to what Deputy Timmins said earlier. It is refreshing to hear the openness with which Mr. McDonagh has come to this meeting. At times during this debate, I wondered if we lost an opportunity at this point in time, but that boat has sailed. I was...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Dissolution of National Asset Management Agency: Discussion (21 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I have not got my head fully around the finance aspect of the housing market yet but I have a full understanding of planning and the other aspects. On Mr. McDonagh’s experience of working through sites, we hear in the media a narrative about time-binding both the ESB and Irish Water in their decision-making processes. Is that a valid proposal, in Mr. McDonagh’s opinion?...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Dissolution of National Asset Management Agency: Discussion (21 May 2025)

Pat Casey: How do we address the affordability issue? Mr. McDonagh said that €500,000 realistically is not affordable. Is it beyond the reach of many people? Will increased supply adjust that or are we at a level now where it will not? Before Mr. McDonagh answers, would he mind sending on the paper he did for the then Minister, Eoghan Murphy, at the time? Would that be acceptable?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Dissolution of National Asset Management Agency: Discussion (21 May 2025)

Pat Casey: That is fine. Will Mr. McDonagh address the €500,000 figure? If that is where we are, we seemingly need additional interventions to allow people to own their own home.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, and Taoiseach: Dissolution of National Asset Management Agency: Discussion (21 May 2025)

Pat Casey: I appreciate Mr. McDonagh's time today. I am fully aware of the first home shared equity scheme and the help to buy scheme and how both of them interact with one another and help people to buy their own properties. I have done a number of public meetings on both of those schemes. I thank the Chair for her leniency with time.

Seanad: Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 May 2025)

Pat Casey: Regarding the two previous contributions, the legislation quite clearly details exactly the number of ATMs that are required as a percentage of population. Part of the review process which will happen after the next census will be to establish the use of cash in society. The issues raised by the Senators are clearly dealt with in the legislation in respect of the availability of ATMs. The...