asked the Minister for the Environment if he intends to change the system of house bonding as presently applied; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - House Bonding.
12.
The practice of requiring a bond for the satisfactory completion of housing estates is one of a number of measures available to planning authorities to ensure that housing estates are completed to the required standard. It is a matter for the planning authority to decide the amount and type of security to be given in any particular case and the conditions under which it should be used.
In relation to the bonding system, it has often been found that builders have inadequate bonds. Is the Minister considering the extension of the National House Building Guarantee Scheme to take into account unfinished estates and also insolvencies, where purchasers' money is lost when a builder goes into liquidation? Is a major review being undertaken by his Department in relation to this scheme which has now, I believe, over £3 million in assets and very few liabilities because of its terms of reference? It is a scandal and needs reviewing.
The only review taking place is in the authority of which Deputy Allen is a member. Unlike most local authorities, Cork Corporation have sought personal surety from builders and not the normal form of bonding system which every other local authority operate fairly successful. I am pleased to tell the Deputy that his local authority have decided to change the basis on which they accept bonding on sureties from local authorities to bring them in line with the rest of the country.
With regard to the other matters that the Deputy has raised, I am aware that the Department of the Environment in their housing section have at all times the question of the satisfactory completion of housing programmes under review. If the Deputy has any specific problems in that regard, he should communicate directly with that Department.
In my speech on the Housing Finance Agency Bill recently, I outlined a number of major defects in the National House Building Guarantee Scheme. I outlined——
A question, Deputy, please.
——the fact that there are huge assets available——
A question, please, Deputy.
I am again asking the Minister if discussions are going on between his Department and the Construction Industry Federation in relation to the several million pounds available under the scheme which are not being utilised. That is money collected from house purchasers through a levy system.
I am clearly deputising here for the Minister for the Environment. I can assure Deputy Allen that if he raised such points in his speech on the HFA Bill which went through this House recently, I am positive that the Department of the Environment would have taken them into account. I am not in a position to give him the replies to the questions which he subsequently raised.