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

It is positive that the Minister of State, in advance of Report Stage, is going to look at the possibility of specifying what areas should be taken in charge because there should be clarity and certainty around that. However, that is only part of the equation. There should also be certainty around the timelines on this. The Minister of State has said that the process can take time, the time period is unknown and that it is not appropriate to specify the timeline. I put it to the him, in the strongest way possible, that it is not appropriate to have people living in a newer housing development for ten, 20 or 30 years without these issues being resolved. It is not appropriate that the entirety of a child's lifetime in a home can pass by before public areas are taken in charge. When it comes to building houses, duplexes or apartments we do not say that the time to complete them is unknown and that it is not appropriate to put a timeline on it. We do not say it can take time and then just grant indefinite planning permission. Why do we take a different attitude to public areas of a development vis-à-vis the other aspects? Nothing is unknown, unspecified or not appropriate to put timelines on when it comes to any other aspect of a development. Why this differentiation for the public areas? Why do we regard the public realm with institutional disdain, such that it does not deserve to have certainty or timelines around it? Why not have clarity?