New housing tsar will not be 'anywhere near' €430k salary — Fianna Fáil

The proposed appointment of Brendan McDonagh sparked controversy after it emerged that he would continue to be paid his €430,000 NAMA salary when seconded to the Housing Activation Office. Picture: Laura Hutton/Photocall

The Government will not pay “anywhere near” €430,000 for its new housing tsar, a Fianna Fáil TD has said.

Cork South Central TD Seamus McGrath has said he hopes the head of the Government’s proposed Housing Activation Office could be appointed “within weeks”, after housing minister James Browne’s preferred candidate, Brendan McDonagh, withdrew from consideration.

The proposed appointment of Mr McDonagh sparked controversy after it emerged that he would continue to be paid his €430,000 NAMA salary when seconded to the Housing Activation Office.

It led to Fine Gael essentially blocking Mr McDonagh’s appointment to the role, and shortly after he withdrew his name from consideration for the new position.

Mr McGrath said he believed the €430,000 salary was “excessive”, but it had not been agreed by the coalition.

“We need someone with a required skill set, we need to have a remuneration package which obviously attracts the right person that can lead this office within the Department of Housing,” Mr McGrath said.

“But I think that type of salary over €400,000 was excessive and I don’t believe it will ultimately be anywhere near that.” 

Mr McGrath rejected assertions the appointment of Mr McDonagh was “botched”, while pushing back on claims that Fine Gael was unaware of the leading candidate.

He said some discussions had taken place with finance minister Paschal Donohoe over the secondment of Mr McDonagh, given the responsibility of Mr Donohoe for NAMA.

Mr McGrath said he could not be certain how long the appointment process would take, but the Government is examining alternative options.

“It is an extremely responsible position. We need someone who can do the job and do it effectively and work closely with the minister,” Mr McGrath said, speaking on RTÉ’s This Week.

“This is in no way the minister trying to absolve himself of responsibility.” 

Mr McGrath argued the office is necessary to have an individual who can get into “the nitty gritty of what is causing the delays on the ground in large scale developments”.

Amid the fallout from the failed secondment, the Housing Agency has delivered a report to Mr Browne with options to change rules around Rent Pressure Zones.

It is understood that Mr Browne is examining the proposals within the report, which include the outright abolition of RPZs, their retention or allowing for landlords to hike rents beyond 2% a year.