The non-Irish audience might find it difficult to understand the anger felt in this country at the behaviour of our media during the Celtic Tiger boom and subsequent economic collapse. It is common to hear criticism of a media which failed to investigate or criticise or adopt contrary positions during the good times. You will especially hear criticism of the print media for promoting “property porn” which combined reporting on lifestyle, design and architecture with cold finances which suggested the only way was up if you bought such-and-such property, and there was the general message that property was a one-way bet. Our residential property market peaked in 2007 according to the Central Statistics Office, but that didn’t stop the cheerleading of property in our press.
Take a look at this gem from the Johnston Press-owned regional title, the Leinster Express in April 2009. It is describing a new development in a Midland’s town, Tullamore and is quite heavy with its financial advice. “Now is the time to buy as there is real value and it is cheaper to buy than rent when you work out the figures” and “it is a well known fact that major savings can be achieved by purchasing your home now rather than renting and paying someone else’s mortgage” sings the newspaper in what seems like a heavy-sell. According to the CSO, prices of property outsideDublin have fallen 27% between April 2009 and August 2011 and it seems that the pace of declines is increasing. So a €200,000 property bought in April 2009 might be worth €146,000 today after a €54,000 decline in 30 months. Add in stamp duty, interest on a mortgage and future price drops and a new property tax and you can see why people are so angry at the likes of the Leinster Express.
One person who won’t be angry is the man who has claimed squatter’s rights in one of the homes in the development reported by the Leinster Express above. The development is the Church Hill Demesne development close to Tullamore town-centre and today the Irish Independent reports that a court has allowed the squatter, William Tuohy, to remain in the home, a 3-bedroom semi-detached property, which according to the sales blurb for the estate, boasts a marble fireplace and a solid oak kitchen. William appeared before the Tullamore District Court last Wednesday and the judge held that the squatter was entitled to continue living in the property, which reportedly is subject to a loan which is now in NAMA. The squatter was allowed stay after the judge noted that he had improved the property since he moved in, in June, had no intention of committing an offence and has offered to pay rent. The charge of trespass was thrown out.
The decision on Wednesday might have some consequences for NAMA which is shortly to unveil its negative equity mortgage product to help it shift hundreds of its empty properties throughout the country. But as William has shown in Tullamore, you don’t need any convoluted financial product to live in a NAMA house today.
According to data released by the housing minister, Willie Penrose during the week, the development has planning permission for 300 houses – 4 detached, 48 semi-detached and 248 terraced. So far 178 houses have been completed of which 156 are occupied (perhaps in part due to the recommendations of theLeinster Express!) and 22 are vacant. A further 41 houses are at various stages of completion though 14 just have the foundations laid. There has been no start whatsoever on 81 of the houses for which planning permission was approved. There is no work taking place at this point, and the estate is still incomplete lacking the completion of footpaths, sewage system and amenity areas.
With respect to NAMA, since it is NAMA which, according to the Independent, controls a loan for the estate, someone might like to ask the agency why it doesn’t use some part of its the vast cash mountain on which NAMA currently sits, to finish the estate and get the properties on the market, or have discussions with the housing minister about a sale for social housing use – remember there are 98,000 households in the State on the housing list. NAMA has used its cash to redeem €1.25bn of its bonds so far, bonds that cost the agency 1.7% per annum. Might that cash be better used in completing problem estates, thereby generating employment, national assets (housing) and providing existing residents on the estate with footpaths, working sewage systems and amenity areas? Given the low prices paid by NAMA for loans secured by incomplete estates, NAMA might even turn a profit on the venture. So this could be a win-win-win for the agency, the economy and existing residents. Another issue for NAMA, if it is indeed NAMA that controls loans for the estate, is whether the business plan for the site has been approved (or even reviewed), the agency seems to be dragging its heels with this phase of its life-cycle.
Hopefully photographs of the estate will follow shortly and will be posted here as an update.
It’s a Knockout..
http://maps.google.ie/maps?hl=en&ll=53.271091,-7.479243&spn=0.014808,0.027595&t=h&z=15&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=53.271021,-7.479335&panoid=32lLjCorurItPFUQ3Z3XEg&cbp=12,347.55,,0,11.72
I liked the the Lawyer Niel Maddox’s righteous indignation at this story
Humpph! Morally he says. I wonder what we can say morally about those in the banks, those in the property sector, those in the media, those in the finance sector, those who wrecked the country though fraudulent means, continue to wreck it and face no reprecussions whatsoever. If there are no consequences for wrongdoing, then why should anyone refrain from doing so?
William Tuohy is simply following the example and moral code exemplified by such men and which is endorsed by a complicit government that failed to prosecute them.
I mentioned in relation to the Teresa Treacy case that the Government has effectively lost substantial moral authority to enforce the law, as a result of its wilful failure to prosecute the recklessness that ruined Ireland. Indeed, it continues to reward those who failed and continue to fail in many cases.
When bankers like Fitzpatrick and Fingelton are not so much as investigated; When exiles like Dunne and Drumm are unpursued; When developers can swan off to Dubai with their debts unpaid, or brag about how they will never pay them back on national television; when companies like the Quinn group can scuttle assets away from their debtors in exchange for a laptop; when banks can knowingly drive up a bubble, bet their fortunes on it, and charge their losses to the state; when all this behaviour is both allowed and rewarded why shouldn’t someone without a home squat in a moulding and forgotten property that is going to waste?
At this point, given what has been allowed to go on, the only real argument against this squatter is an increasingly nebulous and desperate appeal to morality, or ethics, social order, or religion–all of which have been severely undermined by the Government’s response to the financial crisis and its fallout. This is the beginnings of what Constantin Gurdgiev warned of on this weeks Frontline Program–a “moral and social collapse”, “delegitimising” democracy and the rule of law here.
The appearance of the group New Beginnings is another aspect of this, a more organised and political one. As Morgan Kelly predicted in Kilkenny in August, this is akin to the emergence of Michael Davitt and the Land League in the 1880s.
The fault for this lies with the Government. They have failed to uphold the rule of law, failed to maintain the reputation of the state, and failed to watch over the people. The Government’s solution has been “Canis Canem Edit”, where the largest and most vicious curs devour those under them. “Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war”. If that is the case, then so be it. The Government should no longer expect its citizens to come to heel when called.
@OMF
+1
This gives Occupy Dames Street a new and much broader significance. Morgan Kelly and the “Gang of 9″ have indicated the looming mortgage crisis could destroy the social fabric of the country unless it is addressed in a fair and effective way. Opponents of even limited debt forgiveness should bear in mind that those with means already support those who are less well off via social welfare schemes and that, through Nama, they are effectively forgiving the borrowings and interest due from major developers to the tune of at least €40 billion. That sum is equivalent to nearly half of all mortgages outstanding in the State. It appears that, moral hazard, like taxes, are only for the “little people”.
The Occupy Dame Street/Wall Street/etc movements are slightly different. At their heart they are in effect public morality movements. Appeals by the public for a return to and an enforcement of civic and moral virtue.
I’ve mentioned it elsewhere, but free market fundamentalism became in effect the established church of liberal democracies. Its principal churches, the banks; it’s priests, the economic profession. However, given the shocking failures and corruption in this church revealed in the last few years, the public has lost its faith.
I believe we may be moving towards a Financial Reformation, similar in many ways to the Protestant Reformation–also caused by massive public discontent with corruption and practices within the established church. While I don’t mean to suggest that we may be facing a religious upheaval, but by analogy I would argue that we may well be facing a social, cultural, and especially economic one.
Congratulations. I read that article this morning and the first thing I thought of was NWL and wondered how long it would take the blog to pick up on the story. It is a very interesting, er, ‘development’ with all sorts of implications. I did not know that ‘trespass is only a crime if it is done with the intention of committing another offence’. It leaves open the possibility of those living in part ghost estates claiming empty properties for themselves, or homeless people simply moving in to unoccupied houses. The judge has now set a precedent. I don’t think NAMA will have the b***s to start eviction procedures against this or any other similar occupier.
That would be 89,999 people on the housing list, no?
@Yogan, not even close, remember it’s 98,000 households and although we don’t know how many people that comprises (average household in Ireland equals 2.7 people), I figure that it is at least 170,000.
Oops, sorry, read it as 90,000 and you’re right it is households. So that is 97,999 households on the housing list? :D
@ NWL I am surprised at the lack of comment on the discussion between Vincent Brown and some of our current politician’s. Namely Mick Wallace and Brendan “Whats his name”.
The discussion starts about 28 minutes in. Did you see it? any comments?
http://tv3.ie/3player/show/41/41004/1/Tonight-with-Vincent-Browne
@southofdub, yes I did see the programme which concentrated on the forthcoming referendum. There was a brief contribution from Mick Wallace who is not in NAMA, because his loans are not big enough (AIB and BoI have exposure thresholds of €20m and Anglo has a threshold of €5m). Developer and TD Mick was at the receiving end of a €19m liability order in favour of ACC during the week.
The only thing I would say about his predicament is that it seems stupid to deprive any of the 30-odd people who are bankrupted in this country every year, of their source of income; be that lawyer, doctor, accountant or even TD/Senator. And with the reform of bankruptcy laws we may have 5-10,000 bankrupts in a year, and I hope to see some protection in whatever legislation is introduced, for tools of business or source of income.
Mick Wallace says in that programme that his “main loans are not in Nama because they are with foreign banks”. If this is true, would that mean that his loans would not come under NAMA anyway no mater how big they are?
OMF +1
This sounds like a one man revolution sounds like William Tuohy has the answer as to what should be done with unoccupied NAMA property.
@ southofdub
It is plain to see that if Mick Wallace’s loans were in NAMA he would not be in the situation he is now facing i.e. personal bankruptcy and even loss of his Dail seat. Like the other developers, his loans would be on NAMA”s books written down by the average discount or haircut of 58%. Mick could relax alongside people such as Harry Crosbie who gets to keep his properties when he discharges his NAMA business plan. Mick Wallace proves 110% that NAMA was, and is, a bailout for developers. as I have said from day one.
Mr. Howlin remarked, the banks do “whatever the legal situation permits them to do”. Has anything changed? Is he trying to tell us that it is “them” and not “us” that are majority shareholders (BoI accepted for now) has he also forgotten the huge majority they have in government. Is it not up to him and his colleagues and I would not hold my breath here, to put legislation through the Dail to alter, that, which he says both the public and government are horrified with regard to NAMA. Who does that leave that is not “horrified”? Oh yes! All those who are set to gobble up the legal fees, the developers, the NAMA executives and employees. Also, know collectively as the Golden Circle.
It will be interesting to dee how NAMA, and the judiciary more generally respond, if this catches on. Joan Burton won’t mind, as she will be saving on rent supplements.
I recall how an outbreak of squatting was handled here forty years ago. Unlike the UK, which tolerated the practice for decades, we got emergency legislation and riot squads, if my memory serves me right.
Before that, of course, we had the Dublin Housing Action Committee, which raised the politcal temperature more than a little. As we have never really has industrial development, property issues still run very deep in Ireland. The Field by John B Keane gives a nice flavour.
Richard Curran brought us to Ballisodare and showed us this.
http://g.co/maps/3phsd
He forgot to mention This (Google Rock’s)
http://g.co/maps/8s9bs
@NWL
Well done for highlighting this case.
Mr Touhy, the squatter, who has added value to this deserted premises that NAMA has failed to secure, that NAMA has failed to finish, that NAMA has failed to maintain, that NAMA has failed to improve, that NAMA has failed to rent, that NAMA has failed to lease or that NAMA has failed to sell has done more for the economy of this country in the past year than all the so called responsible economics of FF/FG/LAB et al.
There is similar work which would employ over 45,000 for the next two years ready and waiting to be done in estates similar to that where this squatter is now living.
NAMA, in their utter economic stupidity, think it is better to give money to lawyers so that a property can be left unsecured and abandoned rather than allow somebody to spend money to improve that property.
Indeed NAMA appears to be acting contrary to the wishes of Minister Noonan who only a few weeks ago was encouraging people to spend money.
NAMA, because of its unwillingness to finish semi-finished estates and to actively prevent these estates being finished, needs to be reconstituted or wound up.
NAMA is now a retardent to growth in the Irish economy
@NWL “..someone might like to ask the agency why it doesn’t use some part of its the vast cash mountain on which NAMA currently sits, to finish the estate and get the properties on the market, or have discussions with the housing minister about a sale for social housing use”
Someone did ask. Minister Noonan sent his emissary and investigator into NAMA. He came to the conclusion that there were too many accountants and not enough property expertise in the place. This just proves his point.
Anybody in their right mind that desperately needs a home will now find an empty house with an “open” front door and move in.
NAMA is too busy paying back its bonds in order to curry favour with its political masters, nose “sniffing” in the WAGs’ knickers and generally acting like a debt collection agency rather than an asset manager to realise and understand what its true mission is.
It’s not that it doesn’t pay its staff enough – most are getting twice what they expected and two years of defined benefits for every year served in the most generous pension scheme that I am aware of. It’s just that they have the wrong skill set.
If you are a tax collector or an accountant all your life – that’s what you know. That’s who you hire and that’s the road you follow. Only thing is – that it’s the wrong road. By the time NAMA realise it, we will all be completely screwed and anarchy will reign. This is just the beginning. The first swallow – or to mix metaphors, it will be a case of “monkey see, monkey do” and the learned judge has just given permission to everyone else to “do”. He has ignited the beginnings of a revolution that will be hard to extinguish.
I don’t often agree with OMF, but this time he’s got it 100% right.
@OMF
+1
Mr Tuohy could hardly be accused of freeloading because, according to the judge he has offered to pay rent. Would it not be better to have a property occupied and improved by a rent paying tenant than sitting empty?
The Government might find that there is an unintended consequence in forcing a pay cut by referendum on the judiciary. More judges might side with the little guy. Maybe I was wrong in an earlier posting on here – maybe the judges will ensure that there is some sort of NAMA for the little people.
A “moral and social collapse”, “delegitimising” democracy and the rule of law has indeed commenced here. This gap in the moral & social order is usually filled by organisations such as New Beginnings or The Land League. However, as they become more political, they will eventually be infiltrated and taken over by those dogs of war; and there are some very “vicious curs” about the place prepared for the moment when they can take advantage.
@NWL
Yes.
Quote from Lisney 2008 annual review. Page 21 New Homes. ” It is a buyers market and for those who are savvy, there is great value to be had and deals to be done in the new homes market. Perhaps Mr Tuohy has been advised by Lisney?.
Great summation OMF.I would add the following.
The legal profession have reportedly made submissions to the Troika in respect of forthcoming restraints on their ‘profession’.
So the judicial authority of the state no longer recognises the executive branch of government as the highest authority in respect of financial matters.
Whilst true ,it does expose the legal profession as grasping and fully prepared to subvert the Constitution in pursuit of their own selfish needs.
How can judges pass judgement in cases of Irish law when they no longer effectively recognise the legislative and executive branches of government. ?
The law in Ireland is now used as a form of control over those who are law abiding .We don not have an system of justice anymore.
I would be very suspicious of the legal activists in ‘New Beginnings ‘etc .Where were these people during the boom?
…a bit of perspective on Mick Wallace this is the reason why he should lose his Dail seat not the non payment of debts to foreign banks.The Pensions Board had to bring proceedings.
‘the Independent TD was also facing a prosecution from the Pensions Board at Dublin District Court..
‘It’s alleged that Mr Wallace’s company, M&J Wallace Ltd, took workers’ pension contributions from their wages but did not pay them to the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS).
The CWPS is the special pension scheme for construction workers which covers pension, death in service and sick pay.’
http://www.wexfordpeople.ie/news/wallace-regrets-owing-millions-2905420.html
@John, from recollection of the VB programme on Monday last, Mick claimed that the dispute with the Pension Board related to a few years back and was for €45k in total of which about half were contributions from workers themselves and Mick says these were 100% handed over. What wasn’t handed over was the company’s contribution, and Mick said this would be paid by December 2011, or words to that effect; the significant point he was making was that workers’ pension contributions had been paid.
hmmm the Pension Board is not exactly litigious now are they..
‘I accept all this is more my fault than that of the Pension Board,’ he admitted on RTE’s Morning Ireland,-same link
@nwl IT Indo RTE etc…
‘Also yesterday, Mr Wallace’s company M&J Wallace, which is in receivership, was prosecuted at Dublin’s District Court for allegedly taking workers’ pension contributions from their wages but not paying them to the CWPS.
As well as the company, Mr Wallace is being prosecuted by the Pensions Board in his personal capacity as a director of M&J Wallace.’
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/indebted-independent-td-mick-wallace-promises-to-pay-staff-pension-arrears-2901686.html
But not to worry Mick Wallace Irish voters are immature in many ways and like to ‘get one over on the man’ you will probably top the poll next time you can ask your colleague how he does it because its farcical at this point.
‘The survey shows the continuing extraordinary strength of maverick politician Michael Lowry.
‘http://www.independent.ie/national-news/controversial-lowry-tipped-to-top-poll-at-expense-of-ff-355832.html
‘@wstt…It’s not that it doesn’t pay its staff enough – most are getting twice what they expected and two years of defined benefits for every year served in the most generous pension scheme that I am aware of’
It tops out at 200,000 experienced turnaround specialists work out guys old ‘hands’ do not to paraphrase a model ‘get out of bed for that’..
In the US we get a piece of the action or some ‘skin in the game’ at the backend when the asset has been fixed and sold.
Its self policing in that no reason to do a bad deal very little up front acquisition fees and most importantly the ‘gain’ is taxed at capital gains rate.
Talented first year analysts from good Coll. make that year one.
In my opinion to attract talented staff Nama has to reconsider radically its compensation structure.
‘The proposed law would tax “carried-interest” income, or the share of profits that fund managers receive as part of their compensation. This income is currently taxed at a 15% rate, while the ordinary income by most wage earners is taxed at up to 35%.’
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703302604575294750452297416.html
This judgement is clearly nonsensical and will surely be shortly reversed. Tullamore district court is not quite the highest Irish court.
Adverse possession takes 12 years to obtain during which the owner must not have initiated proceedings to recover the property.
On what basis is it nonsense? On what grounds do you think it will be reversed?
As far as I can see, the judgement was in relation to the charge of trespass and seems watertight, but IANAL.
Just had a look at The Independent’s court report. It appears that the Gardai took a criminal case for trespass against the squatter. Judge accepted defence that there was no mens rea. This defence is inadmissable in a civil case taken by the owner. He’s not going to be living there long unless NAMA wants to send out a message that they won’t evict squatters form their properties.
@Kirsten, I’d agree that the squatter is on thin ice, but the reporting in the Independent stated that the judge allowed the squatter to remain, so doesn’t the judgment go a little further than saying there was no damage or intent to damage the property? Maybe it needs the owner to make the application or use “reasonable force” to evict the squatter, but I thought it was curious the judge sanctioned the continuing occupancy of the house by the squatter even if the charge was trespass.
Re Mick Wallace,
Last week there was a story floating around that some of the Quinn family had sold assets to extended family for a fraction of their value.
The Sunday Indo reports:
“And any possible designs that the Dutch-owned lender might have in relation to the Wexford TD’s beloved vineyard in Cortemelia meanwhile won’t do it any good either, given that he only recently sold it to his own brother.
Commenting on the deal in an interview earlier this year, Mr Wallace said: “I had to sell it to a creditor — who happens to be my brother. I owed him €550,000 and I sold him the vineyard. It’s not something I wanted to do but he was going to get nothing for the €550,000 worth of material that I had got from him for construction work.
“I still go down there [to the vineyard]. But I don’t enjoy the fact that I had to sell it and I did offer it to other creditors who didn’t want it. They were holding out for the hope that they’d get money and hopefully they will.”
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/wallace-loan-to-block-acc-getting-his-home-2907533.html
”
If you want to take Mick at face value, it’s certainly fortunate that Mick was able to repay his brother and still have access to holiday in the vineyard.
transaction may be considered ‘unfair preference’ by the courts and undone.
@AM thanks for that looks like other contractors not so fortunate or maybe the climate of Italy did not appeal……..
‘Mr Wallace confirmed his company owed money to sub-contractors –a figure he once put at €1m — and to the Revenue Commissioners.’-Indo link above
A number of the nama developers are from home building backgrounds and are now on the “payroll” some of them combined with a back to work or retraining scheme would do a decent job finishing these estates and working off their debts plus generating some goodwill internally.
‘EU fund for construction workers
Some €55 million in combined EU and exchequer funding, is now likely to be made available to 6,000 Irish construction workers, Irish MEPs have said.
It followed today’s proposal by the European Commission that €35.7 million from the European Globalisation adjustment Fund (EGF) should be provided to help 5,987 redundant Irish construction workers. A further €19 million is to be provided through the Irish exchequer.’
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/1005/breaking76.html
@John, thanks for that link. You might have thought that we could get some joined-up thinking to access 100% of the EU funding, complete unfinished housing and address the 98,000 households on the social housing list. Employment, national assets (houses), a smaller housing list, completion of works on estates to benefit existing residents : win-win-win-win.
@nwl are you being ironic….NYT Saturday had this to say about Britain.
‘A few years of robust growth would go far toward making swollen federal deficits more manageable. But slashing government spending in an already stalled economy weakens anemic demand, leading to lost output and lost tax revenues. As revenues fall, deficit reduction requires longer, deeper spending cuts. Cut too far, too fast, and the result is not a balanced budget but a lost decade of no growth.’
‘He’s not going to be living there long unless NAMA wants to send out a message that they won’t evict squatters form their properties.’
@KD indo states that.. ‘as they had recently learned the name of the owner, who is in NAMA’
…from that i take it Nama holds the paper not the responsibility to secure and maintain vacant possession.
NAMA has an interest in ensuring that the security for its loans is not neglected.
judge did not grant an order protecting the squatter from eviction, she dismissed a criminal case for trespass on the basis of a lack of mens rea, The side effect of which was that the gardai could not carry out an eviction. Contrary to the title of this thread, squatters rights are not being granted freely to occupiers of properties used as security for NAMA loans.
@Kirsten, the title doesn’t mean you can own a NAMA property simply by claiming squatter’s rights. That, as I understand it, would require possession for 12 years without the owner interfering in your occupation. However the defendant in the case claimed he was occupying the premises as a squatter, as opposed to being someone on the premises to cause damage, and the judge allowed him to remain so that he continues to enjoy the property until the owner intervenes. That’s what the title of the blogpost meant.
@Kirsten Delaney
“NAMA has an interest in ensuring that the security for its loans is not neglected”
I do not often agree with you but you above quote is spot on. That is exactly what NAMA should have done. –’Do not neglect your security.’
The reason for the court case is that NAMA did of course neglect its security for its loan. In fact NAMA is neglecting the security for a great many of its loans.
High profile London hotel and des res sales are much more career enhancing that finshing run down and semi- finished estates in Tullamore or Termonfeckin.
@KD one could argue that the security has been enhanced did the gentleman in question not suggest that he was willing to pay rent prior to this it was non income producing !!!!!!!!!!!
But agree Nama needs to establish some guidelines/rules and enforce them but a little surprised that a housing estate in after all TULLAMORE ended up on their books the Indo reporting is not exactly Pulitzer quality regarding who owns the estate.