Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We have two petitions for consideration today. First, is Petition No. 21 of 2021 entitled Taking in Charge for Mr. Terence Coskeran. This petition relates to the request that the local authority takes in charge a residential development of five houses at Rocksprings, Kilross in Tipperary. This petition has been before the Committee on Public Petitions a number of times. The petitioner presented to the committee on his petition at its public meeting of 12 October 2022 and Tipperary County Council presented on the petition at the committee's public meeting on 27 October 2022. On request of the committee, Tipperary County Council has since submitted a set of documents relating to the planning and taking in charge processes as they relate to this petition. On behalf of the Joint Committee on Public Petitions, the secretariat wrote and thanked Tipperary County Council for supplying information requested. It was also agreed by the committee at its meeting on 27 October that this petition be considered again during Spring 2023. The petitioner submitted further questions which were forwarded to Tipperary County Council by the secretariat on 30 November 2022 on his behalf. Mr. Eamon Lonergan of Tipperary County Council responded with the answers on 2 December 2022. Mr. Joe MacGrath, chief executive of Tipperary County Council, provided a further update to the committee on 16 January 2023 as was agreed at the meeting of 27 October 2022. The petitioner submitted a further reply on 24 January in relation to Mr. MacGrath’s response. The committee agreed to forward this correspondence to Mr. Joe MacGrath, chief executive of Tipperary County Council, and received a further reply from Mr. MacGrath in relation to this petition. The committee recommends that the correspondence from Mr. Joe MacGrath of Tipperary County Council be forwarded to the petitioner for information. Do members have any views on this?

On my own behalf, I think Tipperary County Council has been very fair here and has tried to work as much as it possibly can with the petitioner. It seems at this stage its hands are tied and it can go no further. I suggest at this stage that we ask a representative from Irish Water to come in to explain the situation to us. Every time both Mr. Coskeran and Tipperary County Council seem to take a step forward, there seems to be another obstacle put in their way. I recommend we invite someone from Irish Water to our next meeting, or to a future meeting, to explain what the exact blockages or hold-ups are to it taking this estate in charge when one of the reasons given was that they did not know whether the system in the estate next door would be able for the capacity. It has been proven now that this estate has the capacity to take the five houses from Rocksprings but now there are other obstacles. That is my recommendation. Do the members have any views on it?