Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 March 2018
1031. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if a reply will issue to correspondence (details supplied); if funds will be provided to allow local authorities to complete houses in unfinished estates in an effort to tackle the social housing crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12229/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department published the 2017 Annual Progress Report on Unfinished Housing Developments earlier this month. The report is available at the following link:
http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/rebuilding-ireland/national-housing-development-survey/publication-2017-annual-progress .
As outlined in that Report, the number of unfinished housing developments has reduced by 91% from just under 3,000 developments in 2010 to 256 developments in 2017. In addition, the Report shows that 74% of Local Authority areas now contain less than 10 unfinished developments, with four local authority areas having no occupied unfinished developments.
Funding of the resolution and taking-in-charge 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.
In relation to the taking-in-charge of housing developments, this is a matter for the relevant local authority under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). Nevertheless, to examine current systems and procedures in relation to taking in charge, 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 €10 million in pilot project 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 NTICI has been of considerable value to local authorities and other stakeholders, such as Irish Water, in developing their own enhanced internal systems and procedures to ensure both proper enforcement and expedited taking-in-charge procedures.
As an example of the above, the recently published National Development Plan provision by Irish Water of €31 million for the period 2018-2021 for addressing developments with 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.
