Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 February 2018
225. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if requests from a local authority (details supplied) will be considered; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10258/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 2016 Annual Progress Report on Unfinished Housing Developments was published in March 2017 and is available at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/resolving_unfinished_housing_developments_-_2016_annual_progress_report.pdf
As outlined in the Report, the numbers of unfinished housing developments has reduced by over 85% from just under 3,000 developments in 2010 to 420 developments in 2016, with 248 developments resolved in 2016 alone.
Funding of the resolution process is now firmly centred around investment by housing providers and their funders, as well as income from bonds and securities. In that context, I have no plans to allocate further funding to local authorities, and the level of unfinished housing developments remaining is expected to show a further reduction when the 2017 Annual Progress Report is published by my Department shortly.
The taking-in-charge of housing developments is a matter for the relevant local authority under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). My Department launched the National Taking-in-Charge Initiative (NTICI) in April 2016 to trial new approaches and working methods in supporting and accelerating overall national and local action on the taking-in-charge process of housing estates, including estates with developer-provided water services infrastructure (DPI).
Under the terms of the NTICI, which was underpinned by €10m in funding, developments subject to valid taking-in-charge applications were eligible for inclusion in the call for funding proposals under Circular FPS 3/2016, which is available at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/circular_fps3_2016_national_taking_in_charge_initiative_3.pdf
Findings and recommendations from the NTICI process will be included in a report on the initiative that I intend to publish in the coming weeks. The publication of the NTICI report will be of value to local authorities and other stakeholders in applying the lessons from the pilot authorities, in a more general roll-out of a streamlined approach to taking-in-charge.
The recently published National Development Plan provision of €31 million for the period 2018-2021 for developer-provided infrastructure is evidence of the Government's commitment to transition from the pilot phase under NTICI to a programme phase, commencing with an estimates provision of €3m in 2018 on which further details will be announced in due course.
