Results 1-20 of 71 for nama speaker:Shane Cassells

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (23 Oct 2019)

Shane Cassells: ...he or she can buy. The petitioner has touched on a major issue in respect of properties. It is a matter the Committee of Public Accounts touched on when the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, was before us to discuss large developments being bought up by investment funds while squeezing potential first-time buyers out of the market. In that context, Fianna Fáil introduced...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government (28 Feb 2019)

Shane Cassells: I have a final question for the two CCMA witnesses. The CEO of NAMA was before this committee before Christmas, and spoke about the properties that were made available to local authorities, and the take-up of those properties. In fairness, both the Department and NAMA provided statistics on that. One comment made by the Housing Agency that irked me at the time was that there was an...

Public Accounts Committee: Business of Committee (22 Nov 2018)

Shane Cassells: What was key on the day from NAMA's and Mr. McDonagh's point of view was NAMA's willingness to assist local authorities with the completion of housing projects if they had not been finished and so forth. He stressed that it was not a financial issue from NAMA's point of view.

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...Agency, as well as Mr. McCarthy and the staff from the Department. I thank them all for their work and support. At this committee last month Mr. Brendan McDonagh, chief executive officer of NAMA, was questioned on its remit in respect of the role of housing in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report and disclosed that 6,984 social housing units were offered to local authorities in...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Chapter 10 - Funding and Oversight of Approved Housing Bodies
Vote 34 - Housing, Planning and Local Government
2017 Financial Statements - Housing Agency (25 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: Even if the 1,843 properties which were sold are taken out of the total, that still means that 50% of the total was not accepted by the local authorities. There is no way that NAMA offered 2,500 holiday homes to the local authorities. The Secretary General has said that he does not want the Department to issue missives or directives in terms of what the local authorities do. When I asked...

Public Accounts Committee: 2017 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 13 - Office of Public Works
Chapter 6: Lease of Offices at Miesian Plaza (11 Oct 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...a significant project and a difficult journey? It is not the first time we have had bodies before the committee with no documentation corresponding to the claims made. At Christmas in 2016 we had NAMA in the same scenario. Can Mr. Buckley take me through why there is no documentation in respect of what was to be anticipated?

Written Answers — Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government: NAMA Social Housing Provision (27 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...the relevant local authority CEOs or the Housing Agency as to the reason only 2,717 units were taken up by county councils when a total of 6,984 social housing units were offered to their sector by NAMA. [39009/18]

Confidence in the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government: Motion [Private Members] (25 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...local government too. Last Thursday at the Committee of Public Accounts we heard some revealing and shocking statistics from the chief executive officer of the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, Brendan McDonagh, who said in a housing report that it had offered 7,000 social homes to local authorities yet only 2,700 were availed of, meaning some 60% were not taken up. That is...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...gleaned from the exchange so far has been beneficial. I appreciate the frank offer of information. I wish to begin with Mr. McDonagh's remarks in respect of the social housing engagement NAMA had with local authorities and the offer of 7,000 residential units to them by the agency, of which only 2,717 were taken up. He stated that many local authorities retrospectively contacted NAMA...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: Of the 7,000 units made available, 2,717 were taken up. That was a poor rate of take-up by the local authorities. Many elected members of local authorities are very critical of NAMA but this was a situation where the local authorities had the opportunity to take up units it was making available. Where were the majority of the units? Were they concentrated in particular counties? Were...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...Government appeared before the committee, he was not prepared to address land acquisition programmes. In spite of all that, there was only a 40% take-up of the completed units being offered by NAMA through the Housing Agency, which is a scandal. The approach of our local authorities to this issue during the housing crisis is scandalous. In terms of the process, Mr. McDonagh stated...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...with the CEOs of many local authorities. At times, the Housing Agency focuses more on parameters than county councils or, certainly, elected members. I presume the Housing Agency reported back to NAMA in regard to the take-up.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: I acknowledge that difficulty. If I put the list of what NAMA was offering up on my social media account tonight, those properties would be snapped up quickly. The reasoning behind the decisions is key. In some instances, did the Housing Agency indicate it did not have the funds to purchase the units? It was earlier stated that it was short of funds. Was there a funding issue?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...a housing list in one town, a director of housing or a CEO would have a brass neck to come back and say there is enough of anything in one area because we do not have enough housing. The fact that NAMA had that number of units on the books and was offering the capital upfront makes the response by the local authorities even more bizarre and scandalous. Was the poor take-up communicated...

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: I appreciate Mr. McDonagh can only answer from his perspective. Given the funding was not an issue because NAMA would have taken care of the capital upfront, were the so-called parameters which meant they did not want an over-concentration of so many social housing units in a particular area their guiding rule for the refusal?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: NAMA was offering solutions.

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: NAMA was offering more and they said, "No." Mr. McDonagh went on to say they were choked of funds. Will Mr. McDonagh explain that? I am trying to square that circle. Was it in the context of the development of land banks? What was it in respect of?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: Mr. McDonagh referred to SDZs. There is a limited number of SDZs in the country. Was NAMA involved in the SDZ in Navan?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: Approximately 70% of the land that remains on NAMA's books is in the Dublin area. With regard to the other 30%, is there engagement with local authorities on the potential scope for those areas?

Public Accounts Committee: National Asset Management Agency: Financial Statements 2016 and 2017
Comptroller and Auditor General Special Report No. 102: National Asset Management Agency Second Progress Report (20 Sep 2018)

Shane Cassells: ...their attitude? The mind boggles when one considers their attitude towards completed units. They did not have the wherewithal to grasp that potential. What is their attitude now to dealing with NAMA at the height of a crisis and given the fact that the tenure of NAMA is coming to an end?