Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 May 2012
275 Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government if he will outline the process by which estates are graded as unfinished by his Department; the number of estates that have applied and are waiting for unfinished estate status in total and broken down by local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22767/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the process of preparing the National Housing Development Survey 2011, published by my Department in October 2011, local authorities provided details of all unfinished housing developments in their areas. Unfinished housing developments were divided into four categories as follows:
Category one, where the development is still being actively completed by the developer, or where no serious public safety issues exist;
Category two, where a receiver has been appointed;
Category three, where a receiver has not been appointed and the developer is still in place but effectively inactive; and
Category four, where the development has been effectively abandoned and is posing serious problems for residents.
Other relevant factors for the purposes of the categorization process include, inter alia:
the state of completion of roads, footpaths, public lighting facilities, piped water and sewerage facilities and open spaces or similar amenities within the development;
the extent to which the development complies with the terms of applicable planning permission;
the extent to which it complies with the provisions of the Building Control Acts 1990 and 2007;
the provisions of the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 as they pertain to dangerous places and dangerous structures within the meaning of the Act;
the extent to which facilities within the development have been taken in charge by the local authority concerned and
where there is an agreement regarding the maintenance of such facilities, the extent to which this agreement has been.
Details of all estates assessed as part of the National Housing Development Survey 2011 can be found on my Department's website, www.environ.ie. Over the coming months, the process of preparing the National Housing Development Survey 2012 will be launched; local authorities will liaise my Department in this regard.
