Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I extend my congratulations to the Minister, Deputy Hogan, and the Ministers of State, Deputies Penrose and O'Dowd, on their appointment. The question arises as to why there are any ghost estates if the provision to which the Minister of State referred is as satisfactory as he indicated. The practical experience in many cases is that a bond was provided on foot of a planning permission for a period of seven years but the developments have not been completed within that timeframe. The difficulty is that there is little consumer protection. If a developer goes into receivership, for example, the bond is quite low in the pecking order of creditors. The receiver will generally try to negotiate the bond down and the shortfall must then be made up by the public purse.

A serious problem also arises where there is an inadequate bond and where the developer goes back to the bank and the latter refuses to renew the bond. The local authority is not then in a position to force developers to finish estates because if they cannot get money for a bond they will not get money to complete construction. It is a circular issue and the people who are ultimately paying the price are those who bought homes in these estates and have to live there. The money that has been provided, although welcome, will fall far short of what is needed. The Exchequer should not have to pick up costs that are rightly the responsibility of private developers. Is there anything in the area of consumer protection that can be strengthened to address this issue? Will the Minister of State insist that bonds remain in place until the estate is taken in charge by the local authority or the management company?

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