Latest news with #ÓBroin
Irish Independent
18-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘Historic low' – just 6,325 house commencement notices this year, the lowest rate since lockdown
The Department of Housing says the total number of commencements in the year to date is 6,325. At the same point last year, the figure stood at 34,581, but this was artificially inflated because developers were rushing to avail of a waiver on water-connection charges and development levies. A fairer comparison would be with the first six months of 2023, when 15,561 commencement notices were filed, or with January to June 2022, when 14,149 housing starts were notified by builders. The Department of Housing figures are just the latest indictor that there has been a slowdown in housing construction this year. Eoin Ó Broin, the Sinn Féin housing spokesman, said that other than the Covid year of 2020, commencement rates have not been this low since 2016. 'That has been the trend now over the last three or four quarters. These are historic low commencements over the last decade,' he said. 'What that means is not only is the Government not going to reach its target of building 41,000 homes this year, there is a real possibility that both this year and next year the total number of homes could be fewer than last year. And that is obviously very concerning.' Mr Ó Broin said that shortfalls in housing output are on the public sector side, with social and affordable homes way behind target. But the Government is also lagging behind on new homes to buy on the private market. 'I am talking to a lot of builder/developers, particularly small to medium-sized around the country, and they are really struggling to get finance, planning permissions, utility connections, site servicing. So what this set of data tells us is that for both this year – but crucially for next year – our housing output is on a downward trajectory. 'And that means house prices and rents will continue to rise.' Due to the waivers last year, a total of over 60,000 commencement notices were filed. Ministers would have been hoping that the focus of the construction industry had turned to completing those houses, which must be finished by December 2026 if the builders are to avail of the waivers. ADVERTISEMENT The Central Statistics Office will have new figures on how many houses were completed in the second quarter of 2025 next Thursday. But the figure for the first quarter was 5,938 dwelling completions, which was only up 2pc on the same period last year. The Government will need to see a considerable improvement in the second-quarter figures if it is to have any chance of getting close to its declared target of 41,000 completed houses this year. Housing Minister James Browne has already conceded that the official aim is 'not realistic'. Several independent bodies, such as the Central Bank and the ESRI, are predicting that output will be somewhere between 32,000 and 34,000. One positive that the Government could take from June's commencement figures is that 509 of the notices were for apartments, a sector that it is trying to revive. This brings the total number of apartment commencements for the year up to 2,208, which is just over one-third of the total.
Irish Independent
29-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Eoin Ó Broin calls for new state regulator to oversee apartment block management companies
Reforms requiring firms to set up sinking funds to deal with unexpected costs should go further, says Sinn Féin housing spokesman Companies in charge of running apartment buildings will be required to set up sinking funds to deal with unexpected costs under new legal changes — but there are calls for reforms to go further. Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin said a new regulator needs to be established to have oversight of the owner management companies (OMCs) managing blocks of flats. He also called for the Property Services Regulatory Authority (PSRA) to be given additional powers to take action against agents working for OMCs to manage apartment complexes. OMCs are usually made up of apartment owners. They run common areas and shared services in multi-unit complexes, but under a new remediation scheme for defective apartments they will also be responsible for applying for grant funding and managing repairs for fire safety and water ingress. Some owners want to see a register of OMCs established to give better oversight of the sector. Government reforms will see responsibility for legislation transferred from the Department of Justice to the Department of Housing. It is expected this will also mean responsibility for the PSRA will move to the Department of Housing. Discussions about transferring these responsibilities are ongoing, but sources said the talks have stopped short of proposing a new register and a regulatory body to oversee OMCs. Correspondence between Department of Justice officials, obtained by Mr Ó Broin under Freedom of Information, shows new regulations under the multi-unit development act 'will be made… to ensure that OMCs are financially sustainable'. This will see regulations introduced requiring OMCs to 'provide for expenditure of a non-recurring nature (ie, sinking fund expenditure)', it states. ADVERTISEMENT They will also set out the class of items which may be subject to annual service charges, and set procedures around setting, levying and paying these charges. Mr Ó Broin said he would like to see reforms of the sector go further. There needs to strong regulation of the property services sector 'There needs to be a regulator of the multi-unit development act, where it would oversee and regulate the OMCs and also produce mechanisms where if there is a dispute between OMC members it could be resolved outside of the courts. That is necessary,' he added. 'The PSRA will move to the Department of Housing. 'That should have happened a long time ago and that is relevant because the OMCs — which represent the owners and owner directors — often appoint agents who run complexes. 'They are regulated by the PSRA which has a voluntary code of conduct and no enforcement powers. 'There needs to be not only a regulator for the OMCs, but strong regulation of the property services sector.' A Department of Housing spokesman said the Programme for Government commits to transferring responsibility for the multi-unit development act from the Department of Justice 'to streamline support for owners' management companies and improve oversight'. He added that work collaborating with the Department of Justice in preparing new regulations around service charges and establishing sinking funds 'are now at an advanced stage'.
RTÉ News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Bill passed extending Rent Pressure Zones across country
The Dáil has agreed to pass a piece of legislation without a vote which will extend Rent Pressure Zones across the country. The bill will go to the Seanad tomorrow and it is expected to be signed into law by President Michael D Higgins on Friday. The Government rejected amendments to the bill which were tabled by Sinn Féin and Labour. The legislation will mean that all current renters will be covered by a 2% annual rent hike cap once the bill is signed by the President. Wider changes to the rent rules will be introduced next March and this will require further legislation to be passed in autumn. Opposition parties have stated that they will not support these more extensive rent reforms which will allow landlords to reset rents to market rates every six years. Minister for Housing James Browne has said that renters will get greater security of tenure as part of the changes. Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin earlier described the legislation as "an utter shambles" and "utterly defensible". He told the Dáil that he has never witnessed such a "haphazard, ramshackle, back of the envelope" approach to a crucial policy, adding that it is a "farce". Minister of State at the Department of Housing Christopher O'Sullivan, who introduced the bill, said that the Government was moving fast because tenants need protection and this will be delivered by extending RPZs. "This is an immediate and concrete protection against high rent inflation," he added, claiming that it would create certainty, stability and clarity for the sector. Mr O'Sullivan added that "this will come as a great sigh of relief" to many of his constituents in Cork South-West. However, Mr Ó Broin described the Government move as an "assault on renters" who "will be the losers". Ministers, he added, "scrambled around" to add references to students to the bill after failing to mention them in any advance briefing. "It is the Fianna Fáil rent hike bill," the deputy said, adding that the party's solution to rising rents "is to keep those rents rising". Mr Ó Broin also said that the move amounts to the dismantling of Rent Pressure Zones and "rips the heart out of the RPZs". He claimed that "in the best case scenario" the proposals will create a modest increase of (housing) supply in high-value areas "and everybody else will be left behind". Security of tenure changes will benefit a small group of tenants, Mr Ó Broin conceded, but said they will create more complicated and difficult rules that can be exploited by rogue landlords and will lead accidental landlords to make mistakes. All this will add to the workload of the already overloaded Residential Tenacies Board (RTB), he said. Mr O'Sullivan defended the bill, claiming the Government is aiming to strike a balance in its approach. "We aim to attract investment, but we know that tenants deserve and need fair treatment," he said. The minister noted that a larger landlord - with four or more tenancies - cannot end a tenancy created on or after March 2026 via a no-fault eviction. "No-fault evictions will be restricted to smaller landlords and outlawed for larger landlords," Mr O'Sullivan said. The minister added that rent resetting would be allowed only in specific circumstances. "This will come as a great sigh of relief" to many of his constituents in Cork South-West, the minister added. Minister of State John Cummins said that 17% of tenancies are outside RPZs. He emphasised the role of enforcement and noted that the RTB has launched "several in-depth investigations into serious, deliberate and repeated breaches of rental law". The board investigated 16,052 tenancies for excessive rent hikes and €70,911 was returned to tenants following 114 compliance interventions, he added. Connolly accuses Govt of normalising homelessness "We have turned language on its head", Independent TD Catherine Connolly said of the Government's claim to protect renters, when the reailty is that it is normalising insecurity and homelessness. "We are in serious trouble as a republic. More and more in Ireland, there's a lack of faith in anything the Government says," she told the Dáil. "We stopped building [houses] in 2009," Ms Connolly said, adding that the housing crisis is a consequence of repeated decisions made by successive governments which treated housing as a product and simply backed the market. She said that her office is struggling to manage the level of housing problems that constituents are presenting with.
Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘A total shambles' – renters will be the losers due to market reforms, Dáil told
TDs are this afternoon debating the Government's laws to designate the entire country a Rent Pressure Zone (RPZ), which will bring in rent caps to all properties. This will cap rent increases per year at 2pc or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. Most opposition parties are supporting the laws, having called previously for the entire country to be designated an RPZ, but they also are putting forward their own amendments. Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said 'renters will be the losers' as a result of the changes. He said the plans were 'total shambles', 'haphazard' and 'back of the envelope'. 'You're going to make things worse in the short term,' he told the Dáil. He predicted there would be higher rents and no guarantee of increased supply. Mr Ó Broin said the 'best case scenario', which is aimed at driving fund investment in apartments for rent, would 'modest levels' of investments from abroad. His party colleague, Louise O'Reilly, told the Dáil how her father had attended the housing protest outside of Leinster House yesterday. She said he campaigned 56 years ago for better housing and that he had thought he would not have to still be doing so, five decades later. Labour TD Conor Sheehan said the announcement of the rent reform plans was 'nothing short of shambolic'. ADVERTISEMENT 'What was proposed last week nearly caused a run on the rental market,' he said. He said it 'really shows how weak' the Government was. Social Democrat TD Rory Hearne said the housing market didn't operate like any other market and it shouldn't be treated like it did. 'It's delusional thinking, it's market-like thinking that doesn't apply,' Mr Hearne told the Dáil. He said people 'need a home and people will pay whatever they can' to get one. 'Relying on institutional investors to provide a key source of housing is absolutely a wrong measure.' Junior housing minister Christopher O'Sullivan said the Government was bringing forward the laws quickly 'because renters need protection'. He said linking rents to inflation would be 'an immediate and concrete protection against high rent inflation'. 'We want to provide certainty, clarity and stability for the rental sector. The new policy measures announced last week to apply from March 1 will boost supply of homes.' He said laws would be brought forward later this year to give effect to the changes kicking in from March 1, which would include removing the 2pc rent cap from newly built apartments. New tenancies created after this date will be able to be set at 'market value' but will have 'far greater' protections for renters.
RTÉ News
18-06-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Bill to extend Rent Pressure Zones 'an utter shambles'
The Dáil is debating legislation to extend Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) across the country. The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2025 is expected to be passed by the lower house of the Oireachtas today and go to the Seanad tomorrow. Sinn Féin's Spokesperson on Housing Eoin Ó Broin described the proposed legislation as "an utter shambles" and "utterly defensible". He told the Dáil that he has never witnessed such a "haphazard, ramshackle, back of the envelope" approach to a crucial policy, adding that it is a "farce". Minister of State at the Department of Housing Christopher O'Sullivan, who introduced the bill, said that the Government is moving fast because tenants need protection and this will be delivered by extending RPZs. "This is an immediate and concrete protection against high rent inflation," he added, claiming that it would create certainty, stability and clarity for the sector. Mr O'Sullivan added that "this will come as a great sigh of relief" to many of his constituents in Cork South-West. However, Mr Ó Broin described the Government move as an "assault on renters" who "will be the losers". Ministers, he added, "scrambled around" to add references to students to the bill after failing to mention them in any advance briefing. "It is the Fianna Fáil rent hike bill," the deputy said, adding that the party's solution to rising rents "is to keep those rents rising". Mr Ó Broin also said that the move amounts to the dismantling of Rent Pressure Zones and "rips the heart out of the RPZs". He claimed that "in the best case scenario" the proposals will create a modest increase of (housing) supply in high-value areas "and everybody else will be left behind". Security of tenure changes will benefit a small group of tenants, Mr Ó Broin conceded, but said they will create more complicated and difficult rules that can be exploited by rogue landlords and will lead accidental landlords to make mistakes. All this will add to the workload of the already overloaded Residential Tenacies Board (RTB), he said. Mr O'Sullivan defended the bill, claiming the Government is aiming to strike a balance in its approach. "We aim to attract investment, but we know that tenants deserve and need fair treatment," he said. The minister noted that a larger landlord - with four or more tenancies - cannot end a tenancy created on or after March 2026 via a no-fault eviction. "No-fault evictions will be restricted to smaller landlords and outlawed for larger landlords," Mr O'Sullivan said. The minister added that rent resetting would be allowed only in specific circumstances. "This will come as a great sigh of relief" to many of his constituents in Cork South-West, the minister added. Minister of State John Cummins said that 17% of tenancies are outside RPZs. He emphasised the role of enforcement and noted that the RTB has launched "several in-depth investigations into serious, deliberate and repeated breaches of rental law".
