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RollingNews.ie

Nama offered a council 507 social housing units in Dublin - so why did it only take 65?

A Nama spokesperson says that the units “were sold following a sales process conducted by a receiver on an open market basis”.

With the occupation of Apollo House came loud calls for Nama to step up and focus its attention on solving Ireland’s current (and growing) housing and homelessness crisis. In the second installment of a special investigation, TheJournal.ie visits some of the most affected areas to examine if the so-called bad bank has been playing its part in providing social housing. 

TAKE A JOURNEY on the Luas Red line and you will be confronted by a massive development.

A complete redesign of the area between the Square and South Dublin County Council, Tallaght Cross is large and airy and has commercial units – including a Marks and Spencer - in the ground floors.

Of the units in the complex, 65 are used for social housing. The number remains low, despite Nama offering the council (which currently has 9,000 people on its housing list) 507 units back in 2012.

So, given that the rejected units alone could have provided 5% of the housing list with homes, why were the units rejected?

“There were three reasons,” says Eoin Ó Broin, the Sinn Féin spokesperson on housing who was a South Dublin councillor at the time.

The government policy doesn’t allow for an overconcentration of social housing and then the council had to get the money to buy the housing. When they went to get the money, they could only get enough for 65 units.

“The other thing is that you really don’t want to create another Ballymun.”

Fianna Fáil councillor Trevor Gilligan says that the development was “way too large and dense to accept all in full” and that works identified in other units could cost “millions”.

A Nama spokesperson says that the units were subsequently sold “following a sales process conducted by a receiver on an open market basis”.

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A spokesperson for South Dublin County Council told TheJournal.ie that it could not afford to reclad the whole development.

“SDCC were asked to consider 591 units put forward by NAMA. 507 of these were in one development. The council did subsequently do a deal through NARPS for 65 of these units.

“The 507 were initially considered as unfinished and there were too many to be sustainable for social housing to take the entire development. Due to the nature of works that were required – which involved a complete recladding of the entire development – all other units [the 65] offered were accepted and completed.”

Right call?

Mark is one person who has lived in the development since 2013 and he says that the right decision was made.

“You don’t want to say this because my neighbours are lovely, but you wouldn’t want to be living in the middle of a 500-apartment social housing complex.

“It’s not a class thing, or a begrudging thing, it’s that I don’t think that kind of development is sustainable.”

Ó Broin says that the council, at the time, felt that it could use money from central government to buy units elsewhere. However, this money was not forthcoming. While there is now money available to councils, he doesn’t believe it is enough.

But, he does believe that the right decision was made in Tallaght. The TD now feels that the moment for Nama to really make an impact in social housing has passed.

“You have to take this on a council-by-council basis. In this case, I would be satisfied that SDCC did everything it could. The important point now is that only 173 houses are left of Nama stock.

While there are 1,000 empty units in Ireland, 500 are owned by AIB and 450 by Permanent TSB. They’ve offered those houses to the State, but funding for only 200 has been approved. On the basis that these are suitable for social housing, they should be bought. These aren’t on private markets, they’re not driving up prices for first-time buyers.

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan last week told Ó Broin that the well of Nama stock of social housing is essentially dry.

“I am advised that NAMA, in its capacity as secured lender, currently has exposure to 173 residential properties which are temporarily vacant. I am further advised, by Nama, that these properties are currently on the market for sale, with many already sale agreed, or are between tenancies. Therefore, those 173 properties represent frictional vacancy and NAMA debtors and receivers expect these to be occupied quickly.

“The fact that there are so few vacant properties in the Nama portfolio reflects Nama’s stated policy of ensuring that houses and apartments are made available to potential purchasers or tenants in a timely fashion.”

Of those 173 properties cited by Noonan, 73 are in Dublin.

Concentration

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Dr Paula Russell of UCD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy says that while concerns around social housing concentration are valid, they are not the only issue.

“There is an issue when there is a huge concentration, but the research isn’t clear cut around social housing mixing. Social housing can be very successful, they can have great community spirit but the concentration can be a problem for a range of reasons.

“The mix is probably what we want. We don’t want to stigmatise social housing, we don’t want people to necessarily know that people are in social housing, you want people to just be from homes.”

Russell says that a desire for “simple answers” can cloud the debate on housing policy, which is in itself very complex.

I can see the argument that the housing list could be eaten into, but it needs to be more nuanced than that.

“There has to be an overview of where the demand is, what resources and facilities are you offering. Are you going to get people to move there? Some people will want to have their support networks around them. You don’t want people to have to leave their jobs because they can’t get someone to mind their kids.

“I think trying to clear your backlog in one place isn’t a great idea. We have to build more social housing, but you have to get the mix right and get the facilities right.”

For more from this special investigation, follow this link.

Investigation: What is Nama doing to help increase social housing supply?

Galway: ‘It’s soul-destroying, like going for a job interview once a week and every time you don’t get it’

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57 Comments
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    Mute chris
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    Aug 7th 2014, 8:49 AM

    They should be hung drawn and quartered for making me use that pesky messenger app!

    88
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    Mute Alan McNamara
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:07 AM

    Did you read the terms for having that messenger app.

    http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4365645

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    Mute Niall Mullins
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:10 AM

    Aw, you ok hun?

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    Mute Colin Howell
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:15 AM

    @Alan, after checking out your link I feel great having always declined facebook’s incessant offer of the messenger app. That is some scary schizz. I certainly would have blindly accepted the terms and conditions

    39
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    Mute chris
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:38 AM

    Thx for posting that
    How is it even legal what they are
    Doing..deleted.

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    Mute Alan McNamara
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:52 AM

    The way I see it, if people want me they can text me or call and I can pick up my Facebook message on the laptop

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    Mute Richard Sweeney
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    Aug 7th 2014, 10:07 AM

    If you read t+c’s of the journal the app can view and delete contents on your sd card. Why?

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    Mute Ciara McCorley
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    Aug 7th 2014, 10:11 AM

    Thanks for that link Alan, have just deleted it from my phone!

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    Mute Denis
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    Aug 7th 2014, 11:03 AM

    After looking at Alans’s link I thought what a load of old nonsense.
    The author is clearly pretty clueless about app permissions on android.
    Why don’t you check the permissions of any other messaging app you have on android, they all have pretty much the same.
    This is just the standard android permissions written to be as scary as possible.
    Check out google hangouts now standard on android, not only does it have all these permissions but it can access your location at any time and read and edit your calendar at any time Gasp!
    Just more ant-facebook ain’t I cool hipster nonsense.

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    Mute DamoDeMan
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:17 AM

    If you are worried about Facebook and your privacy
    Do not be on Facebook
    sticking your ass in the air
    like you just don’t care

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    Mute Negativebird
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    Aug 7th 2014, 11:08 AM

    You fine sir,deserve a medal

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    Mute bob®
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    Aug 7th 2014, 8:47 AM

    Like

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    Mute Pinel G
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    Aug 7th 2014, 10:32 AM

    Facebook is worth about $200 billion all thanks to the data you give them. they profit from data on users.

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    Mute Foxtrot Hotel
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:00 AM

    Are people “liking” this as a joke?

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    Mute duisigheire
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    Aug 7th 2014, 11:20 AM

    watch “terms and conditions apply” on Netflix. It will open your eyes.

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    Mute Paudi Onail
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    Aug 7th 2014, 2:14 PM

    seen it, recommend everyone sees it, though it confirmed what i’ve always known. planned obsolescence docu is another interesting one.

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    Mute Jamie Condren
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    Aug 7th 2014, 10:30 AM

    In those T&Cs posted by the Huffington post, what is meant by a malicious app may do this without your permission? Is it talking about the messenger app or what?

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    Mute Denis
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    Aug 7th 2014, 11:20 AM

    No it’s not talking about the facebook app.
    They are standard permissions that any app can ask for.
    If you install some dodgy app from somewhere and it asks for those permissions it can do dodgy things and record audio and video all the time.
    The facebook app asks to record audio and take pictures so it can support its voice message and picture and video sending abilities.

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    Mute duisigheire
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    Aug 7th 2014, 11:27 AM

    Also, android users check this out….. Open google (assuming your signed in) click account > account history > places you’ve been.

    You can select each date and it will show you exactly where you were etc. Why….? well each time you enable location for maps apps etc…. in the settings menu > Location > On… you will see the message below flash up. Agree or disagree….. always disagree.

    Location Consent !
    Allow googles location service to collect anonymous location data. Some data may be stored on your device. Collection may occur even when no apps are running.

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    Mute Luke
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    Aug 7th 2014, 11:04 AM

    these people are delusional if they think they’re gonna get any $ of that sociopath Zuckerberg

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    Mute J. Dunn
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    Aug 7th 2014, 9:13 AM

    You’d think Facebook would have registered fbclaim.com along with 20,000 intelligible variations for just such an occasion.

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