asked the Minister for the Environment if he gave an undertaking earlier this year to make moneys available for the completion of housing estates and if so, where, and to whom the money is being made available.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Completion of Housing Estates.
14.
The Government's manifestos for the 1979 local elections outlined certain proposals to deal with the problems of unfinished estates including proposals to provide funds to enable planning authorities to take in charge and complete estates which are irretrievably bogged down in litigation. My Department has recently requested from planning authorities information on the extent of the problem in their areas, the type of works outstanding and the likely cost of the remedial action which would be necessary to enable the authorities to take the estates in charge. When this information is received, I hope to formulate proposals to deal with estates where insuperable problems have arisen in achieving their completion. I would point out, however, that it is not my intention to facilitate developers to avoid their obligations to comply with the terms of planning permissions and I have urged planning authorities to make full use of the powers available to them in enforcing planning control, in particular, to require developers before the development commences to give adequate security for its satisfactory completion, the amount of such security to be sufficient to enable the authority to complete the outstanding works in the event of the developer defaulting.
Could I ask the Minister when he issued the request to the local authorities to provide this information? At the outset, the Minister said he had asked the local authorities to give details of cases in their areas which will be appropriate to this scheme.
Recently, I said.
How long ago?
Recently.
How long ago?
I do not have the exact date. Very recently.
Would I be correct in saying that the Minister did nothing whatever about this manifesto promise until this question was put down?
I shall certainly let the Deputy have the date. It may have coincided. Some of these questions are on the Order Paper for some weeks.
(Cavan-Monaghan): A pure coincidence.
We know the story, anyway.
Some of those questions are on the Order Paper since the Recess.
Am I not correct in thinking that the Minister had completely forgotten about this manifesto promise until the question was raised?
No, that would not be correct.
It looks very like it.
Would the Minister not ask the local authorities to use their very wide powers under the 1976 Planning Act to ensure that the estates are completed before the builders or developers are allowed to develop further in their areas? Would the Minister ask any of these who have held on to a considerable amount of money from the developers to use that money now and not wait for twelve to eighteen months, when the developers will have left the estate? If the Act has not been complied with that money should be used in order to ensure that the schemes are finished before they leave the site, because of breaches of the planning laws.
I would ask the local authorities not to give any further planning permission without being satisfied that the developers have completed their previous obligation.
That is allowed to them under the Planning Act.