Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach. There are two issues I want to address, namely, the taking-in-charge process and bonds. I will deal with bonds first, which I address in amendment No. 625.

Much of what is contained in the Bill is about planning ahead in terms of newer housing developments and so on. As a public representative since 2009, a lot of my time has been spent working with residents in newer developments and communities to address issues and deficiencies that have arisen, such as defects, and, in some cases, issues with incomplete developments, where the developer has sold the houses or apartments and moved on without completing the areas as per the requirements of the planning permission. In one area I represented in the past, a roadway that was meant to be built had not been completed by the developer, who claimed not to own the land. That developer obtained planning permission for a very large development based on this roadway being part of the provision. In another area, there were issues with drainage. The council had to put in a pumping station the developer had not provided to correct the problems. I have dealt with a whole range of such problems.

As a public representative, one of the issues that comes up is that when I ask the council, on behalf of communities, to draw down the bond to complete works, the council will often say the bond is completely insufficient. It has happened time and again that the bond that is meant to be lodged is utterly insufficient to ensure there are sufficient funds in place, if the developer walks away, goes bust or whatever, for the local authority to be able to draw down the bond and complete the necessary works in the public area to ensure the estate is completed. Issues identified with bonds include that they have not been index-linked and they have been insufficient to cover the costs of completing the works in public spaces as per the planning permission. There have also been instances where the bond provider is not properly regulated by the Central Bank, which means there is less recourse in those situations.

Amendment No. 625 seeks to address these issues by specifying that conditions around bonds set by planning authorities as a form of security will be index-linked, will be provided by operators regulated by the Central Bank and, critically, will be sufficient to cover the cost of satisfactory completion of the development. I urge the Minister of State to accept the amendment. I will address my other amendments in this grouping after he responds on this one.