Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have a question about bonds submitted to local authorities under planning legislation. I am aware of the practice of local authorities accepting paper bonds - insurance from the Construction Industry Federation, CIF - to cover a bond for a residential development. This practice is of concern to me. The CIF is effectively insuring a development in lieu of a cash bond. In some circumstances developers who had previously issued cash bonds then decided to access CIF insurance rather than providing the cash bond to the local authority. This was the practice in a number of local authorities. I am aware that some local authorities have had difficulty in accessing paper bonds - in other words, CIF insurance. This practice does not provide adequate protection for residents. I am aware that in some cases it has been difficult to draw down the bond if a developer goes into receivership and a housing estate remains uncompleted according to its planning permission. What guidance has been issued by the Department to local authorities about these paper bonds, as they are known? There seems to be confusion in the local authorities with regard to drawing down these bonds.