I should like to take this opportunity to thank Members for their considerable co-operation in regard to this Bill which is long overdue. It is my belief that its provisions will make a considerable impact on the whole question of dereliction in all our urban areas.
Derelict Sites Bill, 1989: Fifth Stage.
Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."
I welcome the fact that we have reached this Stage. I should like to put on record my thanks to the Minister for his taking on board amendments proposed by this side of the House by different parties. They have improved the Bill and it is always welcome to be part of a real legislative process as opposed to being asked on the Opposition Benches to simply rubber stamp legislation. The Minister's approach to the Bill was welcomed. I hope the provisions prove to be effective. I should like to sound one note of caution which is that the Bill will be as effective as the local authorities are in carrying out their functions under it and as the Department will be in monitoring what the local authorities will be doing. It must be remembered that we still have the residual problem that was referred to by myself and other contributors in the course of the debate, which is, as Deputy Quinn rightly remarked a short time ago, that the local authorities, and in particular Dublin Corporation, have been a major cause of dereliction. Long term road widening plans that have no realistic prospect of being implemented have turned dynamic and vibrant areas of Dublin into what have looked at times like war torn battle grounds resulting from Second World War bombing exploits.
Dublin Corporation require not just to act in the enforcement of the Bill under the powers conferred on them. There is a real change of attitude required on the part of road planners within the corporation as to what is needed in Dublin. They should have a wider and broader understanding of the impact on the city of plans and proposals brought forward that have little prospect of being implemented. If we are truly committed to wiping out urban dereliction we must realise that there are problems in the private sector and there are problems caused by local authorities that impact on lands owned by local authorities and lands owned by people in the private sector who, without being subjected to unrealistic and unimplementable proposals from local authorities in the context of development plans, would deal with their lands differently.
It is my hope that the legislation will be a landmark not just in a different statutory approach to the problem but that in local authorities, who share a significant portion of the blame for some of our urban dereliction, and in particular I pick out Dublin Corporation in that regard, there will be a major change of attitude. I hope that change of attitude will be reflected in the approach adopted in the final stages of the preparation of the Dublin development plan which is taking place.
I should like to congratulate the Minister on bringing forward the Bill which has been threatened upon us by so many previous Ministers for the Environment. The work done in the past is now coming to fruition and the Minister is to be congratulated on that. As Deputy Shatter said, it is important to point out that the work is really only beginning. It will be for the Minister to introduce the regulations which will give effect to the provisions of the Bill. I am thinking in particular of the form of the register under section 9. I urge the Minister and officials of the department of the Environment not to give any excuse to any local authority that would enable them evade their obligation to have the necessary register of derelict sites completed within one year. Section 9 is sufficiently explicit to enable a local authority to compile a draft register that will meet their requirements. I urge the Minister to ensure that the necessary regulations required to give effect to the provisions of the Bill are produced as quickly as possible so that local authorities will not be able to hide behind the Department of the Environment.
Like the previous speakers I welcome the Bill. If its provisions are implemented there is no doubt that the effectiveness of local authorities in dealing with derelict sites will be enhanced. However, I have a number of reservations about its provisions. My first reservation relates to the extent to which local authorities will be in a position to implement the provisions of the Bill. We are aware that the Bill provides for the compiling of a register, the administering of that register on an ongoing basis, establishing the market value of derelict sites and the introduction of a levy. However, to implement those provisions local authorities will require additional staff and resources. My experience is that local authorities are very short of staff and resources. They have been plundered off in recent years as a result of voluntary redundancies and cutbacks of one kind or another. Frankly, I am extremely apprehensive as to whether local authorities have the staff or resources to implement the provisions of the Bill. There will be a lot of work involved in compiling the register, identifying the sites and in administration. I would like to get from the Minister an undertaking that he will respond favourably to requests for additional staff from local authorities to enable them implement the provisions of the Bill.
It is all very well to have legislation on the Statute Book and to say that the problems of derelict sites have been dealt with under the Bill but that is not enough. That is like our response to air pollution. We passed a Bill in 1987 dealing with air pollution but the problem of smog in Dublin City has not been dealt with. I do not want people to be looking at derelict sites all over the city and elsewhere in two or three years time and the Minister responding by saying that we have a new Act to deal with them but that it was not possible to implement its provisions because of a shortage of staff or resources at local authority level.
My second concern relates to the provision for compulsory purchase. It is unfortunate that my amendment to that provision was defeated on Committee Stage. I should like an assurance from the Minister that where a local authority make an application to the Minister for the compulsory purchase of a derelict site he will not delay in responding to that application. Local authorities have various matters on the Minister's desk and in some cases they are waiting for a number of years for an order to be made or approval to be given. I do not want to see the same thing happen in connection with derelict sites. If local authorities go through all the difficulties of tracking down the owners of derelict sites, serving notices and then trying to purchase the site compulsorily, I do not want to see their efforts frustrated by delays, for whatever reason, at ministerial level.
My third reservation is on the question of the levy. I am still concerned that some developers — who are past masters at getting around the planning process and finding loopholes, which were never intended — may find ways of getting around the levy by submitting planning applications and attempting to frustrate the efforts of local authorities.
I welcome the Bill and the fact that the Minister has responded postively to a number of amendments tabled by Opposition Deputies. I hope the Bill will be an effective method of dealing with the problem of dereliction.
I thank the Deputies for their good wishes. The Minister joins with the Deputies in expressing the wish that the matter will be treated seriously and in a responsible way by the local authorities. I do not think there was ever a question of a lack of local authority staff to deal with dereliction. We already have laws on dereliction on the Statute Book. However, the local authority in pursuing breaches of the existing law were never able to conclude the process satisfactorily and remove the dereliction because of a lack of teeth in the legislative process. This legislation removes that disability. I am quite satisfied that the local authorities have the necessary resources to handle the matter. They have the will to tackle the problem and for a number of years they have been seeking the necessary legislation to do the job properly. Local authorities will have a great opportunity, when the Bill is passed into law, to give effect to what they have been seeking to do for a number of years — to deal effectively with dereliction wherever they find it. I do not think it will be very difficult to compile the register. I would seek local authority members playing a very active role and this was part of the thinking behind the Minister's attitude. They are getting the opportunity to involve themselves, they will see the register, and will help to compile and keep it updated. From my knowledge of the way local authority members contribute at local authority meetings, they will be most anxious to see this legislation on dereliction in place because they will have a direct input into it. There will be no undue delay on this Minister's part in clearing compulsory purchase orders.
I see this Bill as a modern legislative vehicle to deal with something which has been a blight on urban areas for many years. I am pleased that the Bill will come into effect as soon as it goes through the other House. I intend to see it through the other House as quickly as possible. I thank all Deputies who have contributed to the debate.
Question put and agreed to.