Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the valuable work of the NOAC reports. I wish they were acted on more quickly than what they are. The commission has provided a significant database of information, which we are allowed to access and get a better understanding on the workings of the local authorities.

On the specific area of commercial rates, NOAC states there is an improvement in the commercial rates collection across the country and I ask Mr. McCarthy to elaborate on that. An issue that has arisen in my county, which recently went through a revaluation process, is a slight anomaly where the utilities are globally valued in the same year and the local authority does not get the benefit of the global revaluation because they cannot increase the revenue generated from the commercial rates. It is having an effect on us. Is there a policy that we could look at for the future?

I found out that local authorities report on bad debt provisions differently. Some local authorities present the commercial rates as the total that is available for collection and then at the end of the year one sees how much one collects compared to that figure, whereas for social housing rent, some local authorities give a figure that has bad provision built in and the collection rate is slightly skewed because the figure that one is presenting in the estimates is net of a bad debt provision whereas in commercial rates in some local authorities it is the full 100% and one can then see the exact figure they are providing for bad debt. When one looks at collection rates, one sees high social housing rent collection rates but that is because the headline figure includes the bad debt provision.

In the 2017 report, there are variations in how the local authorities recorded the Part V units. Will Mr. McCarthy expand on that?

I have an issue in respect of the fire certification process. It states clearly that many local authorities do not deal with the issue within the two-month period. What happens if it is not dealt with within that timeframe? Is this because there is no statutory timeframe for dealing with it? Does it prevent building work commencing?

What are the implications of it not being dealt with within the two months? Do we have any figures on that? Perhaps the witnesses have figures. Do we have any figures on how many inspections of properties are carried out with regard to fire certification after building has been completed? That feeds into the other matter of improved planning inspections. When the witnesses talk about planning inspections, are they referring to building control or planning itself because there are two different parts to that? Could the witnesses give me an insight into that?

I wonder whether compliance with the drinking water regulation should continue to fall within the remit of the local authorities. It is still in their remit when it should be the responsibility of Irish Water at this stage. Could the witnesses comment on that? In its reports, NOAC says that the number of inspections of properties is inadequate and insufficient. Of those that have been inspected, 79% were non-compliant. It is staggering to think that we are not inspecting enough properties and 79% of the ones we are inspecting are non-compliant. Could the witnesses expand on those few points?