Terry Brennan (Fine Gael)
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I also thank the representatives of the Association of Irish Local Government, the Local Authority Members Association and the City and County Management Association for their attendance. I will not repeat some points that have been taken up.

Affordability is certainly an issue. As Councillor Brophy noted, it will be difficult for anybody to get onto the first rung of the housing ladder. It is up to members to try to ensure it will be easier to get on the ladder. If social housing is located in areas in which infrastructure is not in place, it must be provided in the form of roads, water and transport services, etc. This is very important.

The Part V provisions have been mentioned by many speakers, including Councillor John Sheahan. I personally support the provision of housing in preference to any financial contribution to local authorities. While I must admit and recognise that contributions have been made and used wisely in several local authorities, some local authorities did not follow up on the contributions and consequently the requirements in some housing estates were not met.

I seek opinions on two matters, now that new laws are being compiled. On unauthorised developments and enforcement issues, in the opinion of the delegates as councillors and chief executive officers, is there a legal way by which the enforcement laws could be strengthened? Could they be tightened or do the delegates have suggestions for improving the laws as they stand? I am personally aware of unauthorised developments that have been in place for six and seven years and it appears local authorities are reluctant to avail of court procedures. I will not use the word "threaten", but it is seen as a last resort.

The local authorities are reluctant to threaten court proceedings as it an option of last resort. There must be some way of ensuring that unauthorised developments that were built without planning permission or turned down by An Bord Pleanála are dealt with by local authorities.

I was in a housing estate just before Christmas with 26 or 28 houses and was amazed at the number of cars and vans parked in the estate, some of them on the footpaths, some out on the public roads and the rest in driveways. Should we look at the law in the context of providing more space for cars in our housing estates? Most households have two cars. Indeed, with grown-up sons and daughters, there could be three or four cars in a household. Is it time to look at the density of housing and the number of car parking spaces that are required? Could we improve our planning laws in that regard? Should we do so? I would welcome the views of the witnesses on that matter. The number of vehicles parked in the aforementioned estate took away from the beauty of what is one of the best county council estates in the country. I returned last weekend because I thought that on my previous visit there must have been a carnival happening but that was not the case. Is there anything we can do? Better planning is required in this area.