Housing policy in Ireland

An economic property bubble was found to be a major contributing factor to the most recent financial crash in Ireland
(2007-present).

The most recent figures have shown that house prices in Ireland have risen by 10.5% nationally in the 12 months
leading up to April 2017.

Depending on location, there is a wide variety in average house prices, which range from EUR 88 337 in County
Longford to EUR 389 895 in Dublin.

Similarly, the price of renting nationally is increasing dramatically: prices rose by 8.5% in 2015, by 8% in 2016, and
by 8.8% in the first six months of 2017 alone.

Is the Commission satisfied that Ireland has altered its housing policy adequately since the last crash in order to
prevent another housing bubble from emerging?

Is it satisfied that Ireland has an adequate plan to invest in and build sufficient public housing to address the
unprecedented housing crisis in Ireland today?

Does it believe it was prudent policy by the Irish Government to recently introduce a help-to-buy scheme, which has
further inflated house prices to the tune of EUR 20 000? Does it consider Ireland to be at risk of creating another
housing bubble through its current housing policy model?
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-
%2F%2FEP%2F%2FTEXT%2BWQ%2BE-2017-
005016%2B0%2BDOC%2BXML%2BV0%2F%2FEN&language=EN

Census reveals the new reality of homelessness:

ICHH
Thursday, August 10, 2017

Update 9.15pm: The CEO of the Inner City Helping Homeless (ICHH)
group has wecomed the latest census figures on homelessness and said
they highlight the new reality of homelessness in this country.

Anthonly Flynn said that while homelessness has in the past conjured up
an image of a rough sleeper, the crisis had now moved on to show how
adults, pensioners and most shockingly children are experiencing
homelessness in Ireland right now.
Commenting in the fact that the census reveals how 55% of homeless
people in Ireland are in employment Mr Flynn said the number of people
who are one or two pay cheques away from entering homelessness
maust be grasped by government.

He went on: "The statistics do not, I believe, give a true extent of those
who are homeless. Many people do not engage with the Census, and
figures for those who are homeless in 'direct provision' and who 'sofa
surf' are not included and the number of children in emergency
accommodation is a far cry from the figure reported.

"We need to be realistic. The homeless crisis is worse than is being

reported. We need a full review of homeless services as we are seeing
delays in the release of monthly homeless figures which yet again were
released after 4.30 on the friday of a bank holiday weekend to minimize
the amount of reaction to another increase in figures.

Mr Flynn said the census figures show that 27% of homeless people in
the country are children under 18 years old.

"That's just unacceptable. We have seen reports delivered to the Dil on

the negative impact emergency accommodation and hubs have on
childrens mental health and well being yet nothing is being done to
prevent this.
"This is the biggest emergency to hit this country in many years and the
government need to call a State of Emergency and stop trying to fob
people off with claims that things are improving.

"People on the front line will tell you that nothing is improving and I
would urge the Taoiseach and the Minister for Housing to treat this with
the urgency this homeless emergency demands."

View image on Twitter

Follow

CSO Statistics

@CSOIreland
#census2016results #HomelessPersons #Population
http://www.
cso.ie/en/csolatestne
ws/presspages/2017/census2016profile5-
homelesspersonsinireland/

11:55 AM - Aug 10, 2017

Replies 4 4 Retweets likes
Twitter Ads info and privacy
Press Statement Census 2016 Results
Profile 5 - Homeless Persons in Ireland
http://pdf.cso.ie/www/pdf/20170810100806_Press_Statement_Cens
us_2016_Results_Profile_5__Homeless_Persons_in_Ireland_full.pdf
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) today (10th August 2017) publishes the fifth thematic
report of Census 2016 results - Profile 5 Homeless Persons in Ireland. The report shows
that, on the night of 24 April 2016 (Census Night), 6,906 persons were either sleeping
rough or in accommodation designated for the homeless. Of these, 4,018 were male and
2,888 were female.

Profile 5 analyses the homeless population in April 2016 across a range of variables
including: age, sex, marital status, economic status and nationality. It also looks at the
health and disability status of the homeless compared to that of the general population.

Deirdre Cullen, Senior Statistician: This report will help to further improve our
understanding of this complex issue, by providing important new information on the
social and economic circumstances of homeless persons. The collection of data in this
important area could not have been achieved without the input and assistance of a broad
range of both government and non-government stakeholders, and the CSO would like to
thank all concerned for their cooperation in this.

Todays full report is available on the CSO website at Census of Population 2016 -
Profile 5 Homeless Persons in Ireland

Highlights from Profile 5 Homeless Persons in Ireland

Homeless persons had a younger average age than the general population
The average age of the homeless population was 31 years compared with 37 years for the
general population. Of the 6,906 homeless persons counted in Census 2016, 1,846
persons were aged 0-17 years, with 1,594 being children in family units. A further 413
persons (6%) were aged 60 and over.

Higher proportion of separated/divorced among the homeless

On a marital status basis, 55% of homeless persons aged 15 and above were single,
compared with 41% of the general population. While almost 48% of the general
population were married/remarried, only 9% of those homeless were. The rate of
separation/divorce was just above twice that of the general population, just over 12%
compared to 6%. Of those enumerated on census night, 22% did not provide information
on this topic.
Homeless Families
There were 896 families among the homeless population, representing 2,968 persons, and
accounting for 43% of all homeless persons. There were 67 couples without children,
326 families with one child, 261 families with two children and 131 families with three
children. A further 111 families had four or more children. There were 262 couples with
children and 567 one-parent families. Female parents accounted for 96% of all one-
parent families.

Homeless persons at work / unemployed / in study / retired

Of the 5,212 homeless persons aged 15 and over, 2,915 (56%) were in the labour force, of
whom 899 (31%) were employed. A further 2,016 (69%) were either
unemployed/looking for a first job. There were 607 persons who were unable to work
due to permanent sickness or disability, representing 12% of the total, compared with
4.2% of the general population. Students accounted for 429 persons (8%), while 188
persons stated that they were retired.

Homeless less likely to have (upper) educational qualifications

In relation to level of education, 1,606 homeless persons (38%) did not have an
educational qualification above lower secondary level compared with 27% of the general
population. There were 955 people who indicated that they were educated to at least
upper secondary level and 422 were educated to third level.

Nationalities
Among those who indicated their nationality, non-Irish nationals accounted for 14%,
compared with 11.6% of the general population. As with the general population, Polish
and UK nationals were the largest non-Irish groups, although UK nationals outnumbered
the Polish among the homeless.

Poorer health and higher rate of disability among homeless

Just 62% of the homeless considered their health to be good/very good, compared to 87%
of the general population. Conversely, 19% indicated their health was fair/bad/very bad,
almost double the 9.6% of the general population.

The disability rate among the homeless was double that of the general population 1,871
persons (27%) indicated that they had a disability, compared with 13.5% of the general
population.

Homeless in Emergency Accommodation / sleeping rough

There were 2,887 persons (just under 42%) in Private Emergency Accommodation, while
2,681 were in Supported Temporary Accommodation. A further 1,144 persons were in
Temporary Emergency Accommodation.

In addition, 123 people were sleeping rough on Census Night. Of these, 102 were in
Dublin. Males accounted for 104 (85%) of those sleeping rough.
The table below shows the distribution of homeless persons by region based on the
Regional Homeless Action Plans.

Region Male Female Total

Dublin 2,802 2,207 5,009
South West 285 186 471
Mid West 265 131 396
South East 203 120 323
Mid East 163 68 231
West 119 70 189
North East 100 53 153
Midland 50 44 94
North West 31 9 40
TOTAL 4,018 2,888 6,906

Editor's Note:
Homeless people were identified based on where they were on Census Night rather
than by self-identification. This approach was agreed in advance by the major
stakeholders involved in providing services to the homeless. A count of rough
sleepers, led by participating local authorities, also took place nationally on Census
Night. For further information on the methodology, see the Background Notes to
the report.
Persons in Long Term Accommodation (LTA) are not included in the main results
in this report, as agreed in advance with stakeholder groups. While this group may
require a certain level of support they are for the most part considered tenants and
are accordingly not included. Census 2016 recorded 1,772 individuals in LTAs on
Census Night.
The full report is available on the CSO website at www.cso.ie/en/census/along with
all the data which is available in a range of interactive web tables, allowing users to
build their own tables by selecting the data they are interested in and downloading
them in an easy to use format for their own analysis.
The census figures relate to the de facto population, i.e. the population recorded for
each area represents the total of all persons present within its boundaries on the
night of Sunday, 24 April 2016, together with all persons who arrived in that area
on the morning of Monday, 25 April 2016, not having been enumerated
elsewhere. Persons on board ships in port are included with the population of
adjacent areas. The figures, therefore, include visitors present on Census Night as
well as those in residence, while usual residents temporarily absent from the area
are excluded.
The de facto measure of the population in April 2016 was 4,761,865 while the
usually resident total was 4,689,921 - a difference of 71,944 or 1.5%. The usually
resident measure is used when analysing topics such as nationality and households
and families.
This is the fifth of the eleven thematic reports of Census 2016 results. The CSO
has also published two Summary Reports providing first results of all of the areas
covered in the census. The next profile report Profile 6 Commuting in Ireland will
be published on 31 August. The remaining profile reports will be published over
the rest of the year, and will address themes such as migration and diversity;
health, disability and carers; education skills and the Irish language. The full
release schedule, and all of the Census 2016 reports published to date, are available
at http://www.cso.ie/en/census/
No more silence anymore just to let you all know there is serious problems going on
in the Rent office and housing section of Louth co council, the housing office have
been adding on more to and demanding money from people in arrears and they
can't actually justify the amounts their claiming their owed! Councillor Mark Deery
was made aware of this and showed the proof of this and he tried to get answers
from the management but they are giving him the run about too! It will be intresting
to see will councillor Deery put down a moshion of no confidence in the
management of Louth co council if they can't explain what's going on? Or will he
just try to dodge the subject and hope it disappears? Hear is a chance for Mark
Deery to prove is he a man of the people or is he more interested in covering up for
and protecting corrupt officials? What do you all think he will do? What do you all
think he should do? i have been asking for answers for over 2 years now and
councillor Deery has been asking for months now and every time they try justify the
amount their claiming changes! I have had enough of this now so if I don't have
answers to my questions by the end of this week I am going on an all out rent strike
until this situation is resolved and my questions are answered. if your behind
in your rent or your in arrears to Louth co council id suggest that you should request
a full brake down of their statement of claim! It's time for the corruption in the
housing section of Louth co council to stop!
Earlier: Almost a fifth of homeless people have a job, according to new
CSO figures.

The figures show almost 7,000 people were homeless across the country
on Census night last year.

58% were male, the average age was 31 and 17% were working.

Head of Communications with the Peter McVerry Trust Francis Doherty

says homeless people - who are in employment- face a number of
difficulties.

"People cannot afford rental accommodation so they ... are trying to

hold down jobs while they are in emergency accommodation. That job
isnt enough to keep them in private rental accommodation or meet
their mortgage payments.

"So it's particularly challenging for those individuals to get up every day
and go into a work place and then leave the workplace and come back
to an emergency accommodation situation ... it is very demoralising."

Vacant property owners turn

down 32m grant scheme
Up to 800 houses were due to be provided for social
housing by the end of this year
Thu, Aug 10, 2017, 01:00
Olivia Kelly
Dublin is home to more than 20,000 vacant houses.
Just seven Dublin property owners have applied for grants
of up to 40,000 to allow their rundown vacant houses be
refurbished for homeless families.
August 13, 17
Wonder why?
Wonder what they are not telling us?
Dublin is home to more than 20,000 vacant houses.
Just SEVEN out TWENTY THOUSAND Dublin property owners have applied for grants of up to
40,000 to allow their rundown vacant houses be refurbished for homeless families.
It would also mean that the landlord would have to declare ownership of the property. As it would not be
his/her family home, it would viewed as an asset by revenue !
ARTICLE 6
1 All powers of government, legislative, executive
and judicial, derive, under God, from the people,
whose right it is to designate the rulers of the
State and, in final appeal, to decide all questions
of national policy, according to the requirements
of the common good.
2 These powers of government are exercisable only
by or on the authority of the organs of State
established by this Constitution.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/vacant-property-owners-turn-
down-32m-grant-scheme-1.3181657?mode=sample&auth-failed=1&pw-
origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.irishtimes.com%2Fnews%2Fsocial-
affairs%2Fvacant-property-owners-turn-down-32m-grant-scheme-1.3181657
why voting for the same parties will lead to more of the same deliberate policies...
"Just six years ago, people in their early 30s made up the largest group within the
homeless. It's a horrible way to have to live, but most adults can at least try to steel
themselves against the dread that envelops such a life.
Today, after endless election promises and macho political posing, the largest group within
the homeless is children aged one to four.
Seven thousand homeless, 1,850 of them children, sheltered in rotten circumstances.
Christ knows how this will damage the kids. They don't know how to steel themselves, they
don't have the defences that even a damaged adult can hope to raise.
The twin evils of our day - homelessness and chaos in the public health service. It's as
though these are no longer issues - they have become part of the political landscape, the
new normal.
These are bedrock tasks for politicians - the very basics of civilisation, to provide shelter
and medical treatment for the people.
Doctors have pleaded with them, and nurses too. Fr Peter McVerry has persistently
questioned their inaction. Last Christmas a group of activists, musicians and actors
shamed them, taking people off the street - the politicians insisted they knew what they
were doing, the party lapdogs taunted the activists.
Having taken back the issue, the parties have turned homelessness and health chaos into
useful, permanent social scandals. And they take turns slagging each other and exploiting
their own failings in the competition for votes.
But, isn't this just being negative, cynical? Aren't the politicians doing their best?
There's a Twitter account called @Newsworthy_ie. It collects, edits and puts online video of
significant political moments. It's a fine example of social media journalism.
Last week, it patched together three moments featuring Enda Kenny and Micheal Martin, in
a 27-second edit. It's remarkably revealing, and depressing.
First, seething with apparent anger, Enda Kenny tears into Fianna Fail at the 2007 FG Ard
Fheis: "They promised to decrease significantly waiting times at accident and emergency
units. The result, as you know, is a national disgrace."
There's fire in Kenny's eyes as he spits out the words: "And nobody accepts responsibility
for any of these failures."
Next, Enda versus Micheal, at a debate during the 2011 election: "Micheal should be
ashamed to speak of health issues in this country. We have people lying on trolleys,
announced by the HSE, record numbers yesterday."
Finally, a debate between the same two in 2016. Kenny has been in office for five years
and now Martin is almost parroting Kenny's passionate accusation of 2011: "The man has
some brass neck to talk like he talks about health. Their policies, their performance is
disgraceful."
Even more than the words, what matters is the seemingly genuine depth of feeling each
brings to their performance. They're as passionate as you can hope for a politician to be.
But there's no relationship between the impassioned words and what Martin did as Minister
for Health and Kenny did as Taoiseach.
It's as though the issues of hospital chaos and homelessness have no reality of their own.
They are used solely to provide FF and FG with an emotional subject over which they can
take turns displaying their carefully scripted concern and their anger.
So, we ask ourselves: are the leading FF, FG and Labour politicians foolish incompetents
who wasted 10 years failing to deal with problems that are a fairly simple matter of
matching aims and resources?
No, it's worse than that.
Look at the shameful "targets". The aim is that no one over 75 years of age will have to
wait in A&E for longer than... 24 hours.
This how low we've sunk, this is the height of our ambition. Wait in hope and fear, in pain
and discomfort, for 24 hours. That's if you're over 75. Younger - it might be 48 hours, or
longer. This mocks the very notion of an emergency department.
And they're not even meeting that target.
So far this year, 5,880 people over 75 have waited longer than 24 hours for a bed.
It's all about hospital beds. In 1980 we had nine beds for every 1,000 of population. By
1990 the figure was down to 6.1. A lot of wealthy people, including some politicians, had
arranged complex tax frauds, and revenue was down. Closing hospital beds was one way
of reducing state spending.
In 2003 bed numbers hit a low of 4.3. It was Celtic Tiger time and there was an effort to
improve things - so, in 2004 the figure spiked to 5.7.
Today, the OECD average is 4.8 beds per thousand.
And our figure is 2.9.
There's no mystery to this problem. Bringing Irish standards up to the OECD average
requires 9,000 beds.
And beds are bugger all use without nurses.
Just do it.
But, where's the money for this?
We are a rich country. When we were poor, decades ago, we build vast public housing
estates, we had sufficient hospital beds. They were made priorities by the state.
Today, politicians posture as though there's some mystery to it all. No, there isn't. Beds and
nurses and houses, or forget about it.
Politicians have created a thriving private property market, from which rich people are
getting richer. This has pushed up prices and rents right through the market, so that even
some of those with jobs can't afford shelter.
"We've never seen rental increases like this in any jurisdiction that we're aware of", said
David Ehrlich, one of those making a fortune. Head of Ires Reit, the biggest private
landlord, he foresaw even more increases: "Our prospects for continued bottom line growth
are very positive".
The shortage of shelter isn't a by-product of some failed plan. We say it again: when a
solvable social problem continues for years it is not a problem - it's a policy.
This is what the politicians want. The right-wing parties have worked for this, taking pains to
invite vulture capital into the country; insisting that the State can only "encourage" the
private sector, not compete.
The result, people paying absurdly high rents, or living with relatives, or sofa surfing,
families living in single rooms in hotels. The right-wing ideology of the main parties insists
that the State must "interfere" as little as possible with the private market. The straight
route that worked for our ancestors - direct building of social housing - is not acceptable.
These parties - as we can see from the facts in front of our eyes on a daily basis - prefer to
see children in distress.
Similarly with health. In a quote that never gets old, former Health Minister Brendan Howlin
explained that the government "really required the public system to be inferior. Why else, if
it was first-rate, would people pay for a private system?"
How do you degrade a health service? You cut bed numbers and cut them again, and
again and you refuse to restore them.
So, with effective solutions off the table, the right-wing parties take turns pretending to give
a damn, and slagging each other for failing to do the job.
This is the new normal.
To vote at all - even a miserable fifth preference - for the right-wing designers of our
shameful social problems is a vote for homelessness and hospital chaos.
There was another relevant video on @Newsworthy_ie last week, this time a 28-second
clip of the RTE Six One headlines for August 11.
Among them: "Three out of 10 homeless children in Dublin receive no assistance". It's from
August 11, 1997."
Irelands biggest landlord
announce they made a killing
thanks to Irish housing crisis
Rents are going to keep rising the countries biggest landlord told
its investors yesterday as they announced a surge in profits.
IRES REIT, a Canadian vulture fund who count apartment blocks in
Tallaght (Priorsgate, Tallaght Cross West and The Laurels) among their
massive Dublin portfolio of 2,300 properties, say their profits are up 25
per cent to 33.3 million in the first six months of the year, on the back
of higher rents and the Irish housing crisis.
In a statement released yesterday they also say rents will continue to
rise with all indicators showing that a resolution of the housing shortage
is a number of years away and with Irelands economic outlook
remaining positive, the path of least resistance for prices and rents still
remains to the upside.
They acquired most of their properties at knock down prices from
NAMA in the last three years and now collect an average rent of
1,459 a month from tenants, 4.3% more than the 1,399 that it
charged during the same period in 2016.
As well as the rent increases a further kick in the stomach for both Irish
tenants and tax payers alike is IRES REIT pay 0% tax to this country on
all rental income and likewise pay 0% on any capital gains.
CEO David Ehlirch (who is not tax resident in Ireland and contributes
nothing to the Irish exchequer) said the company is looking to convert
and increase the intensity of its housing units.
Despite a recent uptick in completions, the most
striking feature of the Irish housing market
remains a significant mismatch between supply
and demand.
This situation looks set to continue to the end of
the decade at least.
The statement also assures investors that IRES strives to increase
rents as market conditions permit and subject to applicable laws as well
as acknowledging the 4% ceiling on rent increases introduced by the
Government in December slowed the rate at which the charges rose to
7.9% in the first half from 9.6%.
This is the same David Ehrlich who moaned after the IRES REIT AGM
in May that he was tired of us being called a vulture fund.
Speaking to the press he said:
There is nothing wrong with vulture funds.
They perform a valuable service when banks need
to unload a lot of debt off their books.
But we are the opposite of a vulture fund.
We are in Ireland for the very, very long term.

Vultures make a nest in

Tallaght thanks to NAMA sell
off strategy
Just before Christmas the largest single apartment block deal ever
to take place in Ireland happened when NAMA sold 442 apartments
in Tallaght Cross West for 83 million.
The company they sold it to, Irish Residential Properties Real Estate
Investment Trust (IRES REIT), is now the countrys largest residential
landlord owning over 2,000 apartments in Dublin. Some of the top
people working for IRES REIT have also worked for NAMA. As well as
Tallaght Cross they have also acquired many other large apartment
complexes across the city. In 2014 they bought 800 apartments off
NAMA for 211m in what was called the Orange Portfolio. It consisted
of units in Finglas, Drimnagh, Beacon South Quarter in Sandyford, and
Bakers Yard. The fact they were sold off in one large portfolio put them
beyond the reach of anyone but a company like IRES REIT with its
access to capital and a 130m loan from Barclays Bank.
In spite of the company name IRES REIT is financially supported by
Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust
(CAPREIT) which owns over 40,000 homes in Canada. Many of their
Canadian tenants I spoke to say renters in Ireland should be very
worried. I heard reports of CAPREIT bullying their tenants, many of
whom are older people, of badly managed properties, negligence and
extortionate rent hikes. I will get to that later. I also spoke with CAPREIT
CEO David Ehrlich to get his side of the story. But first of all here is
some background information on IRES REIT.
IRES REIT was set up in September 2013 and floated on the Dublin
Stock Exchange in April 2014 when they raised 200 million with
CAPREIT putting up 20 million of that for a 10% stake. In April 2014 a
former NAMA adviser, Donal Kellegher, was hired as chief investment
officer for IRES REIT. This wasnt in any way a unique development as
a large number of NAMA staff left to take up jobs in companies that are
buying up Irish property. Kellegher, who has over 20 years experience
as a chartered surveyor, worked for NAMA from May 2010 to March
2014 as Senior Property Advisor prior to his move to IRES. A statement
on the company website at the time said: His primary responsibility will
be for the day-to-day development of IRES REITs residential rental
portfolio in Ireland, including identifying opportunities and on-the-ground
investment sourcing. I think it would be safe to assume IRES REIT
benefitted from Kelleghers knowledge of having worked with NAMA.
Another ex NAMA employee who left to join IRES REIT is Charles
Coyle. Currently the VP of Acquisitions at IRES he worked for NAMA for
two years. From March 2011 to October 2013 he was Portfolio manager
at the agency before spending a year (October 2013 to September
2014) as Senior Property Advisor. As per NAMA no rules were broken
and there was no conflict of interest.
Speaking in 2013 at a Committee of Public Accounts debate NAMA
chief executive Brendan McDonagh was asked whether staff leaving to
work with companies investing in the Irish property market could be
accused of a conflict of interest. Were they being hired because they
could have insider information?
They would not have been working for NAMA in the first place if they
did not have the skills we neededVery few people have access to
information with a high level of detail. Having said that, people who are
employed by the NTMA and assigned to NAMA are obliged to comply
with the Official Secrets Acts. Their obligations under section 202 are of
lifelong application they are not confined to the duration of ones work
with NAMA. he said.
The reality is that people who work in NAMA have to give three
months notice when they resign. We have the option of putting them on
gardening leave for that period. The reality is that we cannot stop
someone from making a living. If we think somebody is using
information inappropriately, there are mechanisms to deal with that
under the present legislation.
NAMA put Tallaght Cross up for public sale last October. The substantial development, which
was built by Zoe Developments just before the property crash in 2008, includes three office
blocks, a hotel and 442 apartments with ground floor retail space. It was the largest number
of apartments to ever come on the market in a single development in Dublin.

In December IRES REIT bought Tallaght Cross for 83 million. Some people I spoke to
thought the price was too low. Going on the rate of 200 per sq foot would mean the
apartments were sold for just 100,000 each. At the same time the government was building
modular homes in Ballymun at a cost of 190,000 in the midst of the worst housing crisis to
hit the country.

Someone connected with one of the companies involved in the sale who wished to remain
anonymous told me the real price was 180,000 per apartment. They said the 83 million just
covered the 442 apartments and the three office blocks, hotel and ground floor retail space
was included in the deal for free. There has been some discrepancy of the actual price, I
know that it was even discussed in the Dail, he said. To be honest with you it was all about
the resi (residential). The commercial units were just included to seal the deal because their
value would be no where near market value. At the moment only 10% of the commercial
units are occupied yielding rent of just over 600,000 per year but it still represents a hit to the
tax payer and a substantial chunk of free Dublin real estate.

Already IRES REIT are making more money off the development than they initially forecast
with The Irish Independent reporting on January 19th: Canadian property giant IRES REIT is
set to make even more money than expected on its purchase of 442 apartments in Dublin
barely a month after it agreed to buy them from Nama. When the sale was agreed a month
ago, IRES said the apartments were 85pc occupied and it was forecasting an annual yield of
8.1pc if they were fully occupied. Now though, the property is 88pc occupied and IRES
believe it can get a yield of 8.5pc if it is fully occupied. The improvement in projections for the
property will only fuel criticism of the sale, with Fianna Fails Michael McGrath calling on the
apartments to be sold to individual buyers to help the capitals housing crisis.

Obviously I wanted to speak to someone in NAMA to establish how much the apartments
went for. It was impossible to actually make contact with anyone from the organisation.
Instead I had to go through a Dublin PR firm, Gordon MRM. They have had the contract to
deal with NAMAs PR since 2010. Figures provided by Finance Minister Michael Noonan in
January show that the NTMA and NAMA paid Gordon MRM 177,959 last year. This
represented an 8pc increase on the 165,059 paid out to the firm in 2014 and followed the
159,826 the NTMA and NAMA paid in 2013. In 2012 the figure paid to the firm was
223,723 (142,653 from NAMA), in 2011 it was 205,388 (142,653 from NAMA ) and in
2010 it was 207,255. This gives a total of 1,139210 (excluding VAT) which the Irish
taxpayer paid for the organisation to answer questions from the press. I had to email my
questions to NAMA spokesperson David Clerkin which were as follows:

I was to attribute the following to a NAMA spokesman:

1) The 2009 Act that established NAMA states that it has a mandate to contribute to the
social and economic development of the state and it shall have regard to proper planning
and sustainable development. If this is the case why did NAMA sell to a foreign vulture fund
like IRES REIT who are backed by the Canadian company CAP REIT who have an atrocious
reputation in Canada with regard to dealing with tenants and upkeep of property. As this
company is also an offshore PLC they do not have to publicly show their accounts and dont
pay tax in this country. Answer: Your beliefs relating to NAMA and your understanding of
the NAMA Act are incorrect.
2) IRES paid NAMA 83m for the 442 apartments at Tallaght Cross West, the sale was
conducted through Nama-appointed receivers Deloitte. Experts say the commercial space
and car park included in the deal is valued at 40million (based on 200 per sq.ft) thus this
means the apartments are effectively being sold for an average of just 100,000 each; plus
when the sale was agreed in December IRES said the apartments were 85pc occupied and it
was forecasting an annual yield of 8.1pc if they were fully occupied. Now though, the property
is 88pc occupied and IRES believe it can get a yield of 8.5pc if it is fully occupied. My
question is, does NAMA truly believe this deal was in the best interests of the Irish taxpayer?
Answer: The apartments to which you refer were sold for an average of 180,000 and
not 100,000 as you incorrectly claim.
3) I firmly believe NAMA is facilitating the biggest land grab in this country in generations and
is not working in the best interests of the Irish taxpayer. I thought the idea behind NAMA was
to warehouse debt and park it until the most opportune time instead NAMA have had a fire
sale offering blocks of assests at knock down rates to their pals. Is this a fair description of
NAMA? Answer Your comments show that you have already formed strong opinions
on NAMA that are based on false and/or inaccurate information and suggest that the
article you propose to write on this matter will not be objective, informed or based on
facts. All sales by NAMA receivers or debtors are openly marketed to ensure the best
achievable price is obtained for the taxpayer.
Upon receiving this email I called David Clerkins office to try and get some more satisfactory
answers but he repeatedly refused to answer my calls or my voice mails.

CAPREIT REPUTATION IN CANADA AND RESPONSE FROM CEO DAVID EHRILCH

So what are CAPREIT like as landlords in Canada where they own over 40,000 homes?
From searching on the net I came across a large number of websites where tenants from all
over Canada make very serious allegations against the company. Through some of these I
was able to make contact with people who have experienced first hand how the company
treats their tenants. The response to my questions was overwhelming, in the space of two
weeks over a hundred people contacted me. My question to them all was the same, what are
CAPREIT like as landlords and should Irish tenants be worried. Here is just a small section of
the responses I got.

Sherwin F: I would do whatever I can to help with this. I had personal experience dealing with
CAPREIT in Ontario, and it wasnt good at all. I have a lot of photos that were given to me by
other tenants while I picketed outside of their buildings to raise awareness of the issues, and
give other tenants information about what they could do. YES, they should be VERY worried.
Deb Marcovitch: VERY VERY! WORRIED INDEED!
HMD: CAPREIT is a slumlord. They are disingenious. They have quite a few promotional
videos on youtube. Notice that the comments are disabled for ALL of them. I wonder why that
is? Is it that CAPREIT is worried that your future neighbours might try and warn you?
Donna Flynn: I just won 3 harassment cases against CAPREIT. After working with the
Tenants Association on an increase that charged tenants more than the Landlord and
Tenant Board approved, I, a tenant who never had any concerns raised by CAPREIT since
moving in on March 6, 2004, all of a sudden was the target of several ongoing Applications to
Evict me from 2012 to now. They had no cause for these applications against me. If they are
saying they have satisfied customers, they are not paying attention to their annual report
which shows their vacancy rate from the time I moved into a CAPREIT building in 2004 to
now, have sky rocketed. Their own annual report shows their marketing costs have sky
rocketed also. They bombard the market with marketing and deals. The rising marketing
costs and vacancy rate, tell me, that even that aggressive sales approach is not working. I will
be happy to share the court orders with you once L&T sends me the latest one from last
Tuesday and the one from the next hearing in March.
Carol C: Dia ages Mhuire agat Padraig..yep I too had the pleasure of being a CAPREIT
tenant for all of 16 weeks. My story is dreadful. I lived on the forth floor and was completely
flooded due to maintenance neglect on their part. They refused to pay stating thats what my
insurance was for my insurance refused to pay stating it was neglect on CAPREITs
part. It was just awful, simply awful. I did nothing wrong yet went through 2 months of sheer
hell. My privacy was invaded continually to a point I had to put my private paperwork in a
bank deposit box as one of their employees entered my apt daily, even admitting to it. I had to
take my lap top to work daily, I could leave nothing at home. I would tell anyone DO NOT
RENT FROM THESE PEOPLE.
Jessica Lee Stephenson: My experience was a common one: I moved into a unit (with my 2
year old son) that was uninhabitable; aside from being infested with both cockroaches and
bed bugs (which they tried to claim I brought with me), there were tons of repairs needed,
which took forever and I had to keep harassing them. My son got sick from all the filth. I took
them to the landlord and tenant board and I was awarded about 6 times what their paralegal
offered me in mediation. They were heartless. We moved out after a few months. The
neighbors we met there were in similar situations, but they did not have the knowledge or
resources to stand up for themselves, and they were afraid to make waves. It was very sad
Petya P: CAPREIT management is absolutely terrible!! They never return calls, and never do
repairs unless they are threatened with legal action or taken to dispute resolution. They will
enter your suite without permission, tell you that repairs have been done when they havent,
and increase rent by the maximum allowable by law. In BC there is no requirement for an
onsite land lord so the staff is only available from 9-5 Monday to Friday and anything else
requires you leave a message with the after hours message centre where they state that they
will send the message to the office but the office will deny receiving these messages. They
will let anyone and any amount of people move into a unit and refuse to address the issues of
noise from tenants. I lived for a year with plugs that literally shot blue sparks out of them and
cords would drop out on their own before I could get them to replace the sockets and even
then I had to argue with them about how many they were willing to fix. They even tried to evict
me for having a large dog claiming it was against CAPREIT policy even though there were
several tenants with large dogs already in the building, and yet nowhere on my rental
agreement said anything about this rule. This place is a nightmare and I wish that I never
moved in. Your country should be very very concerned.
Andrew Crowley: Stay FAR FAR away from CAPREIT. Been in 2 of their managed properties,
had issues with bed bugs and roaches in both.
Mike G.S: I used to live in Ocean Towers under Carpet and had a very unfavourable
experience and Im reluctant to rent with Capreit again. I was wondering if anyone had any
any good experiences with
JKL: Nothing good to say about CAPREIT. Sorry. CAPREIT sucks. Source? I worked for
them. I had to lie to tenants, lie about previous renters, lie about why the pest control guy was
there 6X a week, lie about the safety of their vehicles, lie about the the only reason CAPREIT
operates in HRM is to take advantage of international students and make them live in
shitholes for super jacked up rent. we were encouraged to rent to international students over
locals. strongly encouraged. because they totally will cough up 1,800 for an infested unit,
based on the view and the proximity to spring garden road.
Lee S: I was a resident of theirs in the Montreal Olympic village for a year and had to move
out. The place was falling down having been bought and sold on quickly by other property
companies for years with no maintenance carried out. When CAPREIT bought the place in
2012 it was in really bad shape but they tried to get the tenants to pay for the restoration of it
by putting up the rent so I moved out, wouldnt want to deal with them again, Irish people
should be careful.
With all this information to hand I contacted IRES REIT to get a comment. CEO David Ehrlich
returned my call the same day. Here is what he had to say.

InTallaght: I have spoken to a lot of CAPREIT tenants in Canada and to be honest with you I
was quite alarmed by the amount of accusations against the company from former and
current tenants. Stories of bullying, intimidation, rent hikes and negligence were common. Is
this what Irish tenants can expect?
David Ehrlich: Firstly I dont think that is a fair representation at all, we have over 200,000
tenants and 99% of them are very happy with CAPREIT. You are always going to get 1% of
tenants who are disgruntled. In Canada we are considered an excellent landlord. Ask any
landlord or anybody involved in property there and they will tell you that. From surveys from
tenants I have excellent feedback and response from them. Yes there are some negatives but
the positives far far outweigh them. Just because people go on social media doesnt
represent everyones experience.
InTallaght: From what I have learned the figure would appear to be much higher than 1%. For
example, of the 40,000 + apartments the company owns there have been serious allegations
made regarding the 1,000 apartments in the Olympic Village site in Montreal. There are
newspaper articles about a tenants demonstration at CAPREIT offices in Nova Scotia in
October regarding issues with pest control. One of the numerous websites I encountered was
started by a group called Wheel Chair Rights one of their headings is Dont ever move into
an apartment building managed by
CAPREIT LINK: https://wheelchairrights.wordpress.com/tag/dont-ever-move-into-an-
apartment-building-managed-by-capreit/
David Ehrlich: We only bought the Olympic Village site two years ago (Ed. note it was actually
three) and we are dealing with all issues in relation to that. Again I say, we have over 200,000
tenants who are very happy. I have friends who live in CAPREIT apartments and they are
very happy. We have won industry awards. Youre just wrong.
InTallaght: You have employed people who have worked for NAMA, you can understand Im
sure how this could anger Irish people?
David Ehrlich: We do have Charles Coyle working for us but all rules were completely
obeyed, there was nothing untoward in that, everything was followed to the letter including the
three months gardening leave. There was absolutely no conflict of interest.
InTallaght: At the IRES REIT AGM last year you spoke of increasing rents in Dublin. As Im
sure youre aware we are in the middle of the worst housing crisis in the history of the state
and we have foreign vultures like CAPREIT picking up fire sale priced property subsidised by
the tax payer
David Ehrilch: (Interrupts) Sorry but you are being very aggressive, I am getting a feeling you
have a lot of hostility against the company
InTallaght: Of course I have. What do you expect when you talk of squeezing more money
out of Dublin tenants who are already paying extortionate rents as it is
David Ehrilch: Thats just business. Wed love to offer cheaper rental properties
InTallaght: Well why dont you then?
David Ehrilch: Because the cost in acquiring them doesnt make it possible. We wish the
government came in with legislation to make it less expensive to acquire property. We bought
these buildings off NAMA just as the rents were going up. I feel really badly for the Irish
people and the housing problem in the country. I have met with the government to discuss
what can be done to alleviate the problem.
InTallaght: Who did you speak to in the government?
David Ehrilch: I cant say who. I think were going to be doing some building soon, it needs to
happen because there are terrible problems with supply and demand.
InTallaght: Can you guarantee that Irish tenants will not have any of the problems I have
heard from some of CAPRETs Canadian tenants?
David Ehrilch: We will be excellent landlords. We have a 24 hour line which tenants can ring if
they have any problem. We have all our own maintenance people so if tenants have a
problem with for example the dishwasher or washing machine they will be straight out to fix it.
We respond to calls straight way. I hope this article is going to be fair.

TD questions whether NAMA Act serves

best interests of Irish tax payers
Fine Gael TD for Dublin Rathdown and member of the Dil Public Accounts Committee,
Josepha Madigan, has been highlighting the fact that NAMA actions in Project Eagle
have been restricted by the NAMA act.
Project Eagle, the name given by NAMA to the sale of its entire Northern Ireland property
portfolio, was sold in April 2014 to Cerberus, a US vulture fund, for approx 1.6 billion.

The Comptroller & Auditor General report last September found the sale incurred a potential
loss to the Irish taxpayer of 190m and that Cerberus paid less than 1,900 tax on the 77
million profit it earned from the assets last year.
There have been claims that business people and politicians were to benefit from the deal
which have led to several investigations.

This week it also emerged from the company filings of 15 Irish subsidiaries of global vulture
funds that they pay just 250 a year in tax.

This is despite the companies having in their control 10.3 billion worth of loans and debt in
Ireland and between them the 15 companies paid just 8,000 in tax which represents a
loss to Irish taxpayers of up to 500 million in two years.

The analysis comes from the UCD School of Social Policy, and featured in Monday nights
RT programme on vulture funds, The Great Irish Sell Off.

Speaking about the investigation into the Project Eagle sale Deputy Madigan said:

For the last number of months, the Dil Public Accounts Committee
has investigated the sale by NAMA of its Project Eagle portfolio of
Northern Irish assets.

It is our role to ensure that the interests of Irish taxpayers were

best served in the sale.

We have brought dozens of witnesses before the committee for

questioning over the past few months to gain a thorough
understanding of the sale and to inform our report, due presently
for publication.

I have raised a number of issues with the sale: ranging from the
lack of documentation kept throughout the process to potential
conflict of interest issues.

However, Deputy Madigan believes that another issue is not being given enough attention.

A critical, if sometimes neglected issue that I have raised

repeatedly, with both the Department of Finance and NAMA
officials, is the impact of the NAMA Act itself on the sale of the
Project Eagle portfolio.
The Act informs NAMAs scope for action and places heavy
emphasis on expediency in the sale of assets.

This has had a major impact on the Project Eagle sale, with many
of the issues discussed in the Public Accounts Committee arising
from the acts emphasis on expediency above all else.

The NAMA act, enacted by then Fianna Fil led government,

established NAMA as a vehicle to deal with distressed assets at the
height of the financial crisis.

Public finances were in tatters and the state desperately needed to

raise funds rapidly.

While there was an understandable logic behind the Act, given its
context, its emphasis on expediency above all else gives rise to a
number of concerns as to whether Irish taxpayers interests continue
to be best served.

As I have repeated before the Public Accounts Committee, the

NAMA Act has given rise to a situation where haste appears to have
been placed before prudence.

IRES buy Tallaght Cross West apartments

off NAMA
Irish Residential Properties (IRES) Reit announced it has agreed to purchase 442
apartments, more than 18,000 square metres of commercial space and associated
underground car parking at Tallaght Cross West in Dublin for 83 million.
The apartments comprise 161 one-bed, 237 two-bed and 44 three-bed apartments and
currently have annualised passing residential rents of around 5.1 million at 85 per cent
occupancy. The deal is expected to close in mid-January with the vendor expecting to lease
the remaining 15 per cent of apartments before that date.

A residential leasing programme for the apartments began last September following a fit out
of the properties. According to IRES the current commercial annualised passing rent is
63,000 at 10 per cent occupancy. Based on current annualised passing residential rents and
lease up of the remaining 15 percent unleased apartments at market rents, it is expected to
generate a gross yield of 8.4 per cent.

Tallaght Cross West was built by Liam Carroll of Zoe Developments just before the property
crash in 2008. IRES Reit is acquiring the apartments from the National Asset Management
Agency.

These acquisitions represent an excellent opportunity for IRES to expand its portfolio in
strong locations within the Dublin market, chief executive David Ehrlich said. The Tallaght
Cross West acquisition offers an unrivalled opportunity to acquire 442 essentially brand new
apartments in a high quality development having been recently completed by the vendor.

IRES are an Irish multi-unit residential property investment company that floated on the Irish
Stock Exchange last year. They have also completed the purchase of a further 40 apartments
at Bessboro in Terence, Dublin 6 for 12.2 million.

Tallaght Cross West also includes 3 office buildings totalling 130,000 sq. ft. and a 186-bed
hotel. Two of the office buildings have recently been sold to the Health Service Executive
(HSE) and the third to Talacare which is to provide a Trinity College Dublin medical school
facility in addition to a primary care centre.

Laws protecting tenants from vulture funds

come into force today
The new laws, known as the Tyrrelstown Amendment, will provide renters with
protection where a landlord or investor wants to sell more than 10 properties in a
single development.
The amendment, which is part of The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential
Tenancies Bill, was proposed following the fall out when an American vulture fund purchased
an 89m loan from Ulster Bank which was secured against the Cruise Park estate in
Tyrrelstown.

A number of families in the development were served with eviction notices following the
change of ownership and the amendment was put forward in response to this crisis.

However, the amendment is not binding if the property owner can prove the selling price of
the house/development would rise by 20% if there was no tenant in place.

Another feature of the new Bill means that rent increases are limited to 4% per year in several
rent pressure areas throughout the country.

The Anti-Austerity Alliance People Before Profit will this evening introduce a separate bill
aimed at closing loopholes allowing a legal eviction ahead of a property sale or rent increase.
If passed the legislation will ensure a tenant can remain in their home under the same terms
and conditions if a property is sold by either a landlord, bank or vulture fund.

A tenant will also be entitled to compensation of six months rent if they are evicted because
the landlord, or a member of the landlords family,wish to move into the property.

Speaking at the launch of the AAA-PBP Bill yesterday homeless campaigner Father Peter
McVerry said the homeless situation is going to get much worse in 2017 if banks and vulture
funds are allowed to continue to evict tenants.

He said:

It should be made illegal to evict people and families into

homelessness, except in exceptional circumstances.

The right to a home is one of the most fundamental human rights

and to take away that right, because people are too poor to be able
to pay for their own accommodation, is totally unjust.

While the current focus is on housing those who are homeless, the
most urgent issue is preventing more and more people, and families,
from becoming homeless.

Otherwise, trying to house those currently homeless is like trying to

empty the bath with the taps on full.
Housing crisis continues to
worsen and number of
homeless children rising
The Simon Community has said the number of people entering
emergency accommodation continues to grow month after month
in Ireland.
The charity has released a new report this morning, titled Homeless
and Housing Crisis Fact File, which highlights the pressing issues that
need to be addressed to ease the current housing crises.
It focuses on the growing number of people in emergency
accommodation, the inadequacies of the rent supplement system and
the shortage of housing in the private rented sector.
At the moment 6,000 people are in emergency accommodation,
including almost 2,000 children.
Niamh Randall from Simon said tenants needed greater protection from
vulture funds, that rents here have risen by over 30% and the supply of
rental properties has fallen by over 70% since 2012. She said:
What we know is that being in emergency
accommodation and experiencing homelessness is
hugely traumatic and stressful, so we need to limit
that as much as we can.
We know that building housing takes time, so we
need to look at new ways of increasing supply.
Addressing the housing and homeless crisis must
be the top priority of the next government.
The charity also found that the number of mortgages in arrears for more
than 90 days is climbing with a figure of 70% (61,931) representing the
amount of mortgage holders in serious arrears of over three months.
It says a total of more than 13,000 social housing units were delivered
in 2015 with only 28 houses actually being built.
The report says the number of new private residential properties
completed in 2015 was 12,666, compared to 93,419 houses in 2006.
The report concludes by saying:
Our Fact-file clearly demonstrates the pressures
on all parts of the housing market yet Irelands
approach to the housing market is completely
disconnected; home ownership, the private rented
sector, social housing and homelessness are
approached in isolation when in fact they are all
interconnected.
http://www.simon.ie/Portals/1/Simon%20Community%20Homelessness%20a
nd%20Housing%20Crisis%20Factfile%2021042016.pdf

Mortgage holders here

pay 250 more than EU
average each month

Colm Kelpie
August 12 2017
The volume of new mortgages taken out in the year to June was up by a
quarter on the same period last year, data shows.

But the average interest rate on new variable rate mortgages here remains
high compared with other eurozone countries.

It stands at almost twice that of the eurozone average, according to the

information from the Central Bank.

The number of new mortgages in June amounted to 562m, bringing new

mortgage deals to 5.6bn in the previous 12 months. That compares with new
mortgage agreements of 4.5bn in the 12 months to June 2016. The weighted
average interest rate on new variable rate mortgage agreements, excluding
restructured mortgages, stood at 3.35pc in June.
The rate on all new agreements, fixed and variable, stood at 3.3pc. The
equivalent eurozone rate was 1.83pc.

Fianna Fil finance spokesman Michael McGrath said mortgage rates in

Ireland remain dramatically out of line with rates charged elsewhere in
Europe.

"Despite modest reductions in mortgage rates, Irish mortgage holders are

continuing to pay dramatically more than consumers elsewhere in Europe,"
Mr McGrath said.

"For example, the interest rate on all new mortgages, fixed and variable, stood
at 3.3pc in June compared to a euro area rate of 1.83pc. This means that a
borrower with a mortgage of 200,000 is paying 250 per month more than
they would be paying in the average euro area country.

"That is 250 a month, each and every month. There has yet to be a credible
explanation for such a dramatic difference in the rates charges."

Although the share of fixed rate mortgages is increasing, variable rate

mortgages accounted for 60pc of all new agreements over the past year. The
equivalent eurozone share is 15pc.

http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/property-
mortgages/mortgage-holders-here-pay-250-more-than-eu-
average-each-month-36024788.html

Mortgage holders here pay 250 more then EU average each month

Carrots have failed to get

houses built... it's time to
use the stick
August 10 2017

Ireland's biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, has warned that the prices now
being paid by investors for blocks of apartments to serve the rental sector are
excessive.

Commenting on the outlook for the property market in its latest interim
report, the company says while it is continuing to evaluate new acquisition
opportunities, it believes "that the multi-residential [apartment] market is
currently trading at unattractive prices".
While the company offered no specific examples of apartment developments
or the prices being paid for them, it only recently lost out along with
numerous other investors to the German fund, Patrizia, in the bidding for 319
build-to-let apartments currently under construction by the Cosgrave
Property Group at Honeypark in Dn Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

Patrizia's reported bid of around 132m saw off competition from Ires Reit,
Irish Life, AIG, SW3 and Tristan Capital Partners. The price being paid by the
German real estate giant equates to an average price of 413,793 per
apartment.

Based on the Honeypark portfolio's anticipated annual rental income of

between 7.17m and 7.84m, Patrizia can expect to see an investment yield of
5.5pc to 6pc.

While that return is still relatively healthy, it is significantly lower than some
of the yields being achieved by Ires Reit on a number of apartment
developments within its Irish portfolio.

Ires Reit's average gross yield across its total portfolio of 2,381 apartments is
6.6pc. The company's profitability grew by 25pc to 33.3m in the six-month
period to the end of June as the amount of rent collected from tenants
increased along with the value of its properties.

Ires Reit says it expects rents will continue to increase in the near term at least
as lead indicators suggest "that a resolution of the housing shortage is a
number of years away".

"With Ireland's economic outlook remaining positive, the path of least

resistance for prices and rents still remains to the upside," the company said.

As house prices continue to rise, the Government appears no closer to solving

the problem of affordability. There's a good reason why. Why would any
builder commit to delivering homes for 300,000 or less in Dublin, or
250,000 in Cork, when simply putting them on the market will fetch far
higher sums?

The Central Statistics Office data on house prices tells us that both nationally
and in the capital prices continue to rise.

The highest house price growth so far this year was in south Dublin, at 11.8pc.
There's little wonder that no developer building in Dn Laoghaire-Rathdown
would agree to sell homes at an affordable price when prices are not just high,
but continuing to rise.

But it's not just the 'Stabilising Rents, Boosting Supply' scheme that appears
to be such an abject failure. Earlier this week, the Irish Independent revealed
that developers and local authorities had yet to agree deals to provide
affordable homes on sites across the country in return for the State funding
essential infrastructure on sites under the 225m Local Infrastructure
Housing Activation Fund (Lihaf).

This is despite councils and local authorities having more than four months to
strike a deal.

The Government has a number of options.

There is a compelling case to fast-track the vacant site tax, due to be

introduced from January next year. This will impose a minimum levy based
on 3pc of the value of undeveloped land.

It's too low. In areas identified as being in need of housing - Dublin, Cork,
cities including Limerick and Galway - it should be at a level to force
landowners to develop, or sell to someone who can.

There's also a good argument to be made for the State to step in and build
homes. On publicly owned land, it can deliver a new house or apartment for
less than 200,000. There is no shortage of public land banks - local
authorities, the Housing Agency, OPW and other State bodies control
thousands of acres, many of which are in areas of high housing demand.

This could be a lifesaver for thousands of families on middle incomes who

earn too much to qualify for social housing but who struggle to pay rising
rents or save a deposit to secure a mortgage.

Many of these are key workers; nurses, garda and teachers who devote
themselves to public service but who struggle to find a home to call their own.

Carrots appear to have so far failed to achieve the desired result. Should the
Government now move to wield a stick?

KBC Bank said rising Irish house prices and reduced mortgages arrears here
could boost the Belgian bank's profits by as much as 200m this year.

Write-backs on previously written down Irish loans contributed an 87m

boost in the Belgian group's bottom line in the three months to the end of
June, KBC said yesterday.

KBC Group CEO Johan Thijs told analysts yesterday that his bank is not
currently in discussions to buy Permanent TSB, despite speculation of a
possible tie-up.

Managers in Ireland said no merger talks with any rival are under way, but did
not rule out acquisitions in the banking or insurance sectors.

The bank said Irish loan write-backs for 2017 are now expected to come in at
between 160m and 200m - up from a previous 120m to 160m estimate.

Write-backs reflect a change in the bank's expected recovery on impaired

loans, with rising house prices a significant factor, the bank said.
KBC's Irish arm yesterday reported profits of 102.7m for the three months to
the end of June, compared to just under 40m in the same period last year.

Net profit for the first six months of the year rose to 173.1m after tax and
impairments, up 99.4m compared to the six months to June 2016.

The bank said customer numbers are at a record high of 250,000 in Ireland.

Mortgage arrears cases fell by close to a fifth in the same period, the bank
said, with nine out of 10 cases having now been offered a restructuring
arrangement.

Belgian parent KBC Group ended the second quarter of 2017 with a better
than expected net profit of 855m, pushing first-half profits to 1.485bn - up
a third on the same period last year and boosted by the better recoveries now
expected on Irish loans.

The group said profit growth was strongest in its Belgian and its international
markets business, while results in the Czech Republic remained broadly
unchanged compared to last year. New mortgage lending in the first six
months of 2017 rose 29pc to 333m, it said.

KBC Ireland chief executive Wim Verbraeken said his bank's share of the
mortgage market was "now trending solidly above 10pc for new business",
ahead of historic levels.

Mr Verbraeken said the bank expects house prices to continue to strengthen

on the back of the current lack of supply in particular, but noted the potential
risk of soaring values.

"It is in everybody's interest long term to see moderate price inflation," he

said.

The bank's ability to grow the mortgage business was constrained by the lack
of housing supply, he noted.

Demand from first-time buyers increased in the past year, after mortgage
rules set by the Central Bank were relaxed, he said.

"We are not advocating any further adjustments (to the rules)," he added.

The chief executive said the increase to 250,000 mostly retail customers was a
"milestone" for the Irish bank.

KBC is among the banks engaged with the Central Bank in a process to
identify and potentially compensate mortgage customers who incorrectly lost
their low cost tracker mortgage rates.

Wim Verbraeken said customers the bank has identified as paying the wrong
interest rates have been contacted and put back on lower rates.
However, he said KBC will not publish details of the numbers involved until
the Central Bank probe ends.

KBC Ireland's SME business is in wind-down, with just 900 customers still on
the books, a figure reducing by about a fith each year, the bank said.

I did not try to bury bad

news on homeless figures'
- Murphy
1 Kevin Doyle
August 12 2017

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy denied trying to bury bad news by

releasing homeless figures on the eve of the August bank holiday.

There is a sharp focus on the new minister's housing brief after a series of
reports highlighted the problem is getting worse despite Government
promises.

Homeless campaigner Fr Peter McVerry said the Government was

"ideologically incapable" of addressing the crisis.

The Department of Housing was criticised for releasing its own statistics for
June on Friday, August 4 - as much of the country was winding down for the
bank holiday weekend.

The figures showed there were 5,036 homeless adults, up from 4,922 in May.
The number of homeless families also rose to 1,365, including an extra 118
children.
In a statement last night, the minister said the Government was "currently
dealing with unprecedented levels of homelessness".

"The idea that the Government might try to hide this from the general public,
seek to downplay the scale or turn away from it, does not take account of the
huge amount of time and resources already being dedicated to this crisis."

Mr Murphy outlined a number of initiatives he had undertaken in recent

weeks, noting that 5.3bn had been ring-fenced for housing and homelessness
plans up to 2021.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/i-did-not-try-to-bury-bad-
news-on-homeless-figures-murphy-36024795.html
Ring Fenced Money" This is Imaginary money that successive governments and ministers use
to answer a question. They then spin off on a tangent and tell you what they have done and
how well they have done it with the imaginary money. Ask your minister where did the
money come from for the water meter sitting outside your house and the cost of "ONE single
installation . The answer will be "figures will be released shortly" When ministers get
themselves in trouble by making a gaff or in other words "releasing information" not
approved of by cabinet WE then get a a front and back bench reshuffle.
Meanwhile the government does nothing to ease the crisis
It's time FFG realised that they are duplicating the deteriorating conditions that led to
popular uprisings against the British Occupation of this country. The scale might be smaller,
but I put that down to universal fear of all seeing social media. The point is, the list of
complaints look remarkably similar. Neoliberalism has failed.
Ireland is part of a Free Movement area of 500 million people. The State can't be expected to
micromanage balance between supply and demand, especially given the many components of
both supply and demand, not least timing issues around household formation.
Property rights are fundamental in themselves but are also important as a protection against
state over-reach. Parts of the market system in property aren't working - macroeconomic
policy can drive values to unsustainable extremes - boom and bust.
The culture of greed and hoarding needs to be faced up to. Taxing extreme property values
isn't the answer. Preventing them would be better.
He knows it's 2017 and that he may not be around in 2021.
Hence he'll talk about 2021 and 5.3 bn until he is out of office and then he will tell everyone
that he was working on all those initiatives but he just didn't have the time to implement
them.
And yes the 5.3bn still won't be spent in 2021 either

Ireland should Not be used as the

brexiteers useful Idiots by UK NI, or
Britain or EU
https://www.scribd.com/document/356220084/Ireland-Should-Not-Be-Used-
as-the-Brexiteers-Useful-Idiots-by-UK-NI