Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 April 2013
427. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the mechanism available to residents in a housing estate (details supplied) in County Kildare where the estate is not completed and the bond has expired; the way a person within the estate may have the sale of their house processed and other residents may have the unfinished works completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18299/13]
View answerI am chairing the National Co-ordination Committee (NCC) on Unfinished Housing Developments to oversee implementation of the Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, together with the Government’s response to the recommendations. The Committee includes representatives from the Irish Banking Federation, local authorities, the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, NAMA and the construction sector. Real progress is being made in tackling and resolving the issues faced by residents of unfinished estates and the Committee is meeting on a regular basis to oversee this effort. The NCC has produced a Guidance Manual on Resolving and Managing Unfinished Estates, a Key Stakeholders Code of Practice, and a Guide for Residents Living in Unfinished Housing Developments, all of which are available at www.housing.ie.
Site Resolution Plans (SRP’s) have been identified by the NCC as a key tool in resolving issues associated with unfinished housing developments. Such plans enable stakeholders, including developers, local authorities, financial institutions, NAMA and residents to collaborate in determining how best to pursue resolution of problematic sites. The process also entails working with stakeholders in identifying the best long-term solution for developments in terms of their configuration, use of vacant buildings and ownership. Such solutions also take account of the best interests of residents. In this context the activation of bonds and enforcement of planning regulations is a matter solely for the relevant local authority to pursue and my Department has no function in this regard or in regard to the sale of individual privately owned properties.
