Vol. 406 No. 2
2 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for the Environment if he has any plans to revise the arrangements for compulsory purchase orders by local authorities; if he will outline the steps he is considering to prevent or minimise planning blight arising from prolonged delays, and sometimes subsequent abandonment of CPOs; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I am aware that compulsory purchase proceedings can be time consuming and delays can occur in some cases for a variety of reasons. Although I would not accept that these delays contribute substantially to planning blight, I am having procedures exmained in my Department with a view to identifying any improvements which could speed up the process.
Local authorities have adequate powers under the Derelict Sites Act, 1990, to secure the clearance or improvement of derelict sites in their administrative areas and to ensure that they are rendered non-derelict.
The Minister has missed the point. The local authorities are the agents of the State in enforcing the provisions of the Derelict Sites Act but they are frequently the main culprits in offending against the aims of that Act. Will the Minister accept that in the Dublin city area much of the urban blight derives from the delayed road proposals of the corporation throughout the city and that this has turned Dublin into a city of which many of its natives are ashamed?
I do not accept that natives of Dublin are ashamed of their city; in fact one has only to be a casual listener to any of the programmes on the media——
"Scrap Saturday".
——to recognise that Dublin people are very proud of their capital city, a pride which is shared by all citizens in the country. I certainly share it. As the Deputy knows, the CPO process has been there for a long time; it is a very complex arrangement which goes back to 1845. Perhaps improvements in it could be contemplated and I would certainly be happy to look at that matter. However, I am not aware of any information on confirmed CPOs which subsequently were abandoned or not proceeded with by local authorities. They are the people who are genuinely interested in developing public services and using the CPO process to do it. There have been no undue delays although, as I said, the process is slow.
The Minister used the words "confirmed CPOs" but he must know that, before a CPO is confirmed, it can take many years to get to that point. That is where the delays arise and, very frequently, before it gets to the confirmation stage, the corporation let the CPO lapse with the consequent ruining of streetscapes in our city. I invite the Minister to visit James's Street with me to see the ruinous results of this sort of official lethargy. Will he agree to do so?
I cannot say that I will visit it in the company of the Deputy, but I might take the opportunity to visit it myself.
He will visit it with Mary.
The Deputy knows that the compulsory purchase process is very clear; it falls into three main stages, action by the local authority which have to prepare many detailed maps, publish notices and contact interested parties to ascertain ownership. Action is also needed by the Minister and the Department and, very often, a local public inquiry is necessary. There is then action by the local authorities subsequent to the confirmation of the order. This all takes time but it gives people an opportunity of challenging the order, within a certain period of time, in the High Court if they wish. There is also the notice to treat and all this is done in the interests of the individual. When you acquire property by compulsion adequate safeguards must be enshrined in legislation to give people an opportunity to challenge it so that it will be in the proper interests of the community.
Is the Minister aware that when the local authority decide to designate an area for a compulsory purchase order, all planning applications are refused? It is a sure recipe for dereliction. Will he accept that the people who, unfortunately, live in the vicinity with CPOs hanging over it frequently must live with dereliction for many years, sometimes for 20 years or longer? Will the Minister accept that there is a danger he will be Taoiseach before some of these things are sorted out?
The Deputy tempts me. Essentially the CPO process is an enabling method for local authorities to carry out major works in the public interest such as roads, housing and open space. In so far as the creation of dereliction is concerned, very often private developers take a very long time to assemble suitable sites for the development which causes the blight to which the Deputy referred. I wish that those people would speed up the process and I would be helpful in that regard.
The Minister is oozing complacency, no wonder the problem is so acute.
