Skip to main content

Nama's Social Housing...

Nama may be forced to deliver on social housing...

THE GOVERNMENT is considering plans to amend legislation that would oblige the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to deliver more social housing and public amenities.

Nama, created to purge banks of toxic property loans, has purchased some €31 billion of loans connected to thousands of residential properties – loans valued at over €72 billion at the height the property bubble.

There is frustration in some circles of Government that the agency is not under any formal obligation to provide a “social dividend”.

Minister for Housing Willie Penrose is understood to have written to the Attorney General in recent weeks seeking clarity on how Nama’s terms of reference could be changed to give it a broader remit that goes beyond securing the best achievable financial return for the State.

Officials fear the agency is too focused on its commercial remit to generate profits and feel the State is at risk of losing out on opportunities to maximise the social benefit of large landbanks and thousands of residential properties. However, a spokesman for Nama yesterday insisted the agency was mindful of meeting social needs where it made commercial sense.

He pointed out Nama had facilitated the purchase of almost 60 apartments in Sandyford recently by a voluntary housing association which are being made available for social and affordable housing.

In addition, Nama’s spokesman said the agency was reviewing its portfolio of residential units to identify others that may be suitable for social housing purposes.

Nama is linked to an estimated 10,000 residential units, the majority of which are apartments or duplex units.

Latest figures show the scale of the need for social housing has reached a record high of 98,000 households, as the Government says it does not have funds to buy or build local authority housing.

In addition, pressure is growing on homeless services, while demand for social housing is set to increase as the State moves to close outdated institutions which house thousands with disabilities or mental health problems.

The Act which established Nama requires the agency to obtain the “best achievable financial return for the State” having regard to the cost to the exchequer of acquiring and dealing with bank assets. While it is a listed functionto “contribute to the economic and social recovery of the State”, there is no reference in the legislation to a social dividend or supporting the planning and sustainable development of the State.

Any attempt to make Nama’s remit broader is likely to require legislative change. While the Minister for Finance is able to confer additional functions on the agency, he does not have the power to impose additional objectives, such as the delivery of social housing, education, public transport or public health dividends.

Government sources say that if its remit was changed, Nama could transfer land or housing developments to local authorities or other bodies who would be in better position to get the best long-term outcome for the State as a whole.

They say how Nama disposes of its properties will be crucial to the State’s long-term development.

Report by CARL O'BRIEN - Irish Times

Popular posts from this blog

Ireland's Celtic Tiger Excesses...

'Bang twins' may never get to run a business again... POST-boom Ireland is awash with cautionary tales of Celtic Tiger excesses, as a rattle around the carcasses of fallen property developers and entrepreneurs will show. Few can compete with the so-called Bang twins for youth, glamour and tasteful extravagance. Simon and Christian Stokes, the 35-year-old identical twins behind Bang Cafe and exclusive private members club, Residence, saw their entire business go bust with debts of €9m, €3m of which is owed to the tax man. The debt may be in the ha'penny place compared with the eye-watering billions owed by some of their former customers. But their fall has been arguably steeper and more damning than some of the country's richest tycoons. Last week, further humiliation was heaped on them with revelations that even as their businesses were going under, the twins spent €146,000 of company money in 18 months on designer shopping sprees, five star holidays and sumptu

Property Tycoon's Dolce Vita Ends...

Tycoon's dolce vita ends as art seized... THE Dublin city sheriff has seized an art collection and other valuables from the Ailesbury Road home of fallen property developer Bernard McNamara. The collection will be sold to help pay his debts. The sheriff, Brendan Walsh, is believed to have moved against the property developer within the past fortnight, calling to his salubrious Dublin 4 home acting on a court order to seize anything of value from his home to reimburse his creditors. The sheriff is believed to have taken paintings from the family home along with a small number of other items. The development marks a new low for Mr McNamara, once one of Ireland's richest men but who now owes €1.5bn . The property developer and former county councillor from Clare turned the building firm founded by his father Michael into one of the biggest in Ireland. He is the highest-profile former tycoon to date to be targeted by bailiffs, signalling just how far some of Ireland's billionai

I fear a very different kind of property crash

While 80% of people over 40 own their own home just a third of adults under 40 do. This is disastrous for social solidarity and cohesion Changing this system of policymaking requires a government to act in a way that may be uncomfortable for some. Governments have a horizon of no more than five years, and the housing issue requires long-term planning. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform was intended to tackle some of these problems. According to its website its remit is to “drive the delivery of better public services, living standards and infrastructure for the people of Ireland by enhancing governance, building capacity and delivering effectively”. So how is the challenge of delivering homes for people in 2024 and beyond going to be met? The extent of the problem is visible in the move by companies, including Ryanair, to buy properties to house staff. Ryanair has, justifiably, defended its right to do so. IPAV has long articulated its views on how to improve supply an