Vol. 525 No. 1
147 Ms Clune asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that individuals buying a new house in the County Cork and County Limerick regions have to pay for their house in stages as opposed to other areas of the country where individuals do not pay until completion of the house; his views on this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23751/00]
As I have stated previously, I consider that stage payments, in excess of the amounts covered by the Home Bond stage payment warranty, expose the house purchaser to an unacceptable degree of risk by transferring the funding cost of construction and the development risk from the developer to the purchaser. I have written to the Irish Home Builders' Association on a number of occasions seeking assurances that their members neither seek stage payments in excess of the Home Bond warranty nor seek to extend the practice of stage payments to areas where they did not previously operate.
My Department is currently preparing legislation which will address, inter alia, some consumer protection issues in relation to housing, including stage payments. I also understand that the Director of Consumer Affairs proposes to make an application to the High Court under the European Communities (Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts) Regulations, 1995, to have certain terms, including excessive stage payments, which are now being inserted into standard building contracts, deemed to be unfair.
