JUST 64 SOCIAL HOUSING UNITS DELIVERED BY PRIVATE SECTOR IN 2015 – The Irish Times reports that so-called Part V planning regulations, which require developers to set aside 10% of new homes for use as social housing, delivered just 64 new dwellings in 2015, according to the official data.
The paper says while the figure for 2016 has yet to be published, it is unlikely to be anywhere near the Government’s target level of 4,700 over five years, which equates to an annual build of about 900 units a year.
Part V regulations were revised in 2015 with the requirement that developers allocate 20% of all dwellings for social and affordable housing halved, to 10%.
The new legislation, however, stipulated that builders could no longer offer cash to local authorities in lieu of this obligation, or offer sites or land elsewhere, which was common practice during the boom.
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PTSB SET TO LURE SUITORS WITH TOXIC LOAN BOOK – Permanent TSB is set to finalise a clean-up strategy for its problems loans, including mortgages, by mid-year, the Irish Independent is reporting.
The paper says it’s a move designed to end investor uncertainty about the mounting regulatory pressures facing the lender.
Global distressed-debt funds are circling the troubled residential mortgage portfolio of State-backed Permanent TSB, amid intensifying expectations the recovering lender will launch a formal sales process within the next six months - including of home loans in deep arrears.
A handful of opportunist funds - including Lone Star, Cerberus and CarVal - are already eyeing the rump end of PTSB's toxic mortgages.
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TRUMP LOBBIES REPUBLICANS BEFORE PIVOTAL HEALTHCARE VOTE – Donald Trump was waging the biggest battle of his presidency as he faced a possible defeat in the House of Representatives over healthcare reform that could endanger the broader legislative agenda that markets have priced in, according to the Financial Times.
Mr Trump and Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House, have been furiously lobbying GOP lawmakers to vote today for a plan to replace the Obamacare healthcare law that the party has long vowed to kill.
But the debate has exposed deep fissures in the party that highlight the difficultly Mr Trump faces in unifying conservatives as he attempts to press ahead with an ambitious agenda that includes tax reform.
“Big day for healthcare. Working hard!” Mr Trump tweeted as he worked to ensure that GOP defections stayed below a threshold of 21 that would result in the bill failing.
