I congratulate Deputy Seán Ryan on introducing the Bill because the problem it addresses is one from which I am sure every constituency suffers and from which I know mine does. There are many unfinished estates which are the bugbears of residents who find themselves living in them for three or four years – the longest of which I know in my constituency is 17 years, but I am sure there is longer – without roads, footpaths or lighting. They live in what they consider to be building sites and they are frustrated that the powers that be, the corporation, county council or whatever, cannot seem to ensure the work is completed. The Bill proposes that developers should not be given planning permission in respect of another housing estate or development until their previous development is completed to the satisfaction of the planning and regulatory authorities.
It is too easy to build another 40 or 50 houses and leave behind small problems which residents must face daily. A housing estate in my constituency had a problem with roads which had to be resurfaced. The developer did not contribute to the cost of that work. It was organised between local politicians, corporation representatives, the corporation engineer and residents. The developer was responsible for it in the first place, but he chose to move on and leave behind a mess for others to sort out. One way of dealing with such problems would be to build into planning laws a provision whereby developers will not be allowed carry out further developments until the first is satisfactorily completed. I commend Deputy Ryan on his proposal.
The Minister of State said he would not accept the Bill, and two of the reasons he advanced were that the problem mainly exists in old estates and there was a limit to the extent to which the Bill can apply retrospectively. I can see his point, but we must make a start. Surely we have learned from our mistakes and the Bill is worth accepting as a provision with which to progress. I do not understand why the Minister of State cannot accept it. If he is concerned about the estates which have not been satisfactorily completed and have been left unfinished for many years, let us see some provisions to solve the problem.
The Bill provides for the levying of financial contributions on developers to enable planning authorities develop facilities in the area. There is a similar commendable provision in the Cork County Council region where £500 per house is levied to contribute to roads and footpaths. I have some reservations about that in that I do not believe it is confined to a specific area. However, funds collected locally should be reinvested locally and that is important in the context of the Bill. If a developer plans to build 100 or 200 houses on a greenfield site, he should contribute to services in the area and to the development of roads, footpaths and lighting. Too often houses are built and people move into them to find they have neither a footpath on which to walk to the shop or public lighting at night. These are people who spent a great deal of money on their houses.
I commend Deputy Ryan on introducing the Bill. I am sorry the Minister is not prepared to accept it. I hope we will see some progress in this field which is difficult for many of us in this House.