Fire-safety issue in 150 vacant Nama buildings, PAC hears

About half the vacant properties on Nama’s books have fire-safety issues, the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee has heard.

National Asset Management Agency chief executive Brendan McDonagh said there were fire hazards in 150 of the 300 vacant properties under the agency’s control. The majority of these properties were apartments in Co Dublin, he said.

Mr McDonagh told the committee that some €100 million had already been spent by the agency fixing structural defects discovered in properties taken into its control from debtors.

One of them was an apartment block owned by developer Bernard McNamara which had the same difficulties as Longboat Quay, where residents face the prospect of eviction if money to complete remedial works to fix fire-safety defects is not found.

Mr McDonagh told the committee it was very regrettable what had happened to the people who live in Longboat Quay.

The chief executive said it was a very serious situation but insisted Nama was only in control of 18 of those apartments.

“This is taxpayers’ money at the end of the day,” he said, adding that they had 18 of the 300 properties.

Millions of euro

“So the receiver is working with Dublin City Council and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to find a solution where there would be a meaningful contribution made by the receiver.

“And, let’s be honest about it, the receiver does not have the money. It is us giving the money to the receiver and towards the cost of remediation.”

Mr McDonagh said millions of euro had been spent to solve the difficulties at the other complex developed by Mr McNamara and it was now in a condition that was satisfactory to Dublin City Council.

The committee also heard how local authorities refused 4,000 properties offered to them by Nama over the past four years.

Councils refused homes

Mr McDonagh said Nama had made 6,500 apartments and houses available to the Housing Agency, a State body established to support the delivery of properties, to help in easing the housing crisis.

However, he said the local authorities had told Nama they only had demand for some 2,500 of those properties.

Mr McDonagh said the 4,000 had now been sold to the private sector and there had been “no difficulty” renting or selling them.

He said he did not know the reasons for not accepting the properties and insisted that was a question for the local authorities.

Mr McDonagh said 2,000 of those properties were offered to the four local authorities in Dublin but only 757 were accepted.