Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I fully appreciate the Deputy's concerns about this matter and would share her concerns if the arrangements provided in the Act were being misinterpreted, misapplied or applied in a way that would provide an onerous responsibility on home owners. The provisions in the planning legislation are framework ones and individual planning authorities must make their own judgment based on local circumstances and policies about how or to what extent they implement them in a particular case. These provisions should not be used, however, to transfer responsibility for public infrastructure in housing estates to residents and cause the type of difficulties the Deputy has in mind.

I am familiar with the case Deputy Murphy mentioned, which arises from Kildare County Council's policy on management companies. I asked my Department to contact the council and inquire about the position. The council assures me that it does not attach planning conditions relating to management companies to conventional housing schemes, that is, those with primarily private gardens and so forth, and that it attaches conditions to apartment developments.

The problem the Deputy has touched on is evolving. I would discourage the placing of onerous responsibilities on home owners by local authorities. That is not the intention of that section of the Act. The intention is to protect home owners and to expedite the process of taking estates in charge. It is not meant as a means for local authorities to side-step their responsibilities or try to pass them on to residents.

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