Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I am grateful to Deputy Broughan for removing the slur he placed on me. I am an independent individual and do not depend on any developer.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on an issue which is of importance to the everyday lives of so many homeowners. Since coming into office this Government has led an unprecedented reform of the planning system. We have updated planning law from scratch and have issued an increasing number of planning guidelines — certainly that is the case since I took over this portfolio — to assist local authorities in delivering a quality service and to assist the public with the planning laws.

We have done this because, in the words of the Government amendment, we recognise the importance of well-designed residential development and we are committed to promoting sustainable communities which offer choice to householders across a wide range of accommodation options, embody high quality urban design which is also environmentally progressive and energy efficient and provide a wide range of services and amenities for the community, and are focused on locations that capitalise on recent and planned transport improvements.

The issues raised today relate to the law governing management companies and the appropriate or inappropriate use of planning conditions to require the establishment of management companies. Deputy Stagg mentioned a few and Deputy Catherine Murphy has drawn my attention to them in County Kildare. Another issue raised was the taking in charge of housing estates by local authorities, an area completely reformed by this Government.

In understanding the increased role of management companies, one has only to look at how the supply of housing has changed and expanded in recent years. Almost 77,000 new housing units were completed in 2004 which was more than double the amount completed when the Labour Party was last in Government. Some 21% of the homes built in 2004 were apartments. Even more dramatic, apartments constituted 42% of all houses built in the Dublin area in that year and 68% of the units built in the city council area. In Cork city, apartments made up 43% of all units. More than 100,000 apartments have been built during the past ten years. Deputy Gilmore recognised that the position of apartments is different from that of the traditional houses.

Turning to the law governing management companies, the Government is committed to ensuring current practice should reflect the reality that increasing numbers of people live in apartments. The Law Reform Commission is examining a range of legal issues in regard to the management for multi-unit structures. While management companies have operated successfully in many apartment complexes, problems have arisen in some instances due to a number of factors. Difficulties that have been reported include the standard and cost of service provided by management agents employed by developers or management companies, chronicled by two of the last three speakers; delays in transferring responsibility to owner-controlled companies; and most worrying perhaps for the future, insufficient provision for maintenance or future refurbishment.

I look forward to the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission in addressing the various issues that have been identified. The commission has already done a good deal of work and I understand it expects to issue a consultation paper in the new year. It is not possible to say what the report will contain but a key objective will be to ensure any possible gaps or deficiencies in the legal framework are addressed. It will be necessary to prevent problems arising in the future and to provide a mechanism to rectify difficulties that have arisen with existing apartment complexes. I also expect the report to deal with consumer issues such as the need for transparency in service charges, an issue dealt with by Deputies Stagg and Gilmore. I look forward to receiving the Law Reform Commission report and I will act as speedily as possible on any of its recommendations relevant to my Department.

The Government is already acting in a number of areas. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has indicated that as part of the overall review of company law, the law applying to guarantee companies, including apartment management companies, will be simplified. The Minister hopes to bring proposals for legislation to Government early in 2006. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform recently announced that he intends to establish a new national property service regulatory authority whose functions would include licensing and regulating property managing agents that undertake multi-unit management functions and establishing vetting and complaints procedures.

The maintenance and management of private apartment complexes is ultimately the responsibility of apartment owners, just as in the case of an individual house the house owner has to take responsibility for maintenance, insurance and so on. In the apartment complex context, this is catered for most frequently through management companies, a point recognised in Deputy Gilmore's contribution.

Deputy Gilmore touched also on the issue of taking in charge, as did Deputy Broughan. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s, the problem related to people suffering due to estates being left unfinished. I have first-hand experience of that in County Wicklow. When we modernised the planning law in the Planning and Development Act 2000 to equip it for the challenges of this century, the Government tackled head on the problem of unfinished estates. Deputy Gilmore referred to the changes that were made. We ensured that new homeowners would not be required to bear the burden of the basic infrastructure by obliging local authorities to take estates in charge once finished. Deputy Stagg characterised some of what is happening in his constituency as a nefarious attempt by some in local government to frustrate the taking in charge of estates. In so far as there is any evidence that is happening I will deal with it.

We equipped local authorities with the tools to get housing estates finished. We have strengthened the powers to enable planning authorities to require adequate security to be provided by developers and to require estates to be finished within a reasonably short period. The Act also strengthens provisions in regard to enforcement of planning conditions. Developers can be required to put forward bonds and to deliver on the permissions they get. They can be forced to complete to "taking in charge" standards. That issue was raised by Deputy Gilmore.

Under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act, local authorities are obliged to take in charge the public services of housing estates, once completed to a satisfactory standard, where requested to do so by a majority of the residents of the housing development, or by the developer. Certainly the inclusion of the majority of residents of the housing development is a novel and welcome change in planning law. The section is emphatic. It is not in any way ambiguous. Once completed, section 180 provides that the planning authority must, I emphasise must, initiate the procedures if requested to do so by the developer or by the majority of the qualified electors who are owners or occupiers of the houses. That is not a desiderata, it is an obligatory provision in the Act. The local authority will then be responsible for the maintenance of public services, and that of any associated pipes, pavements, open spaces, car parks and so on, all of which were mentioned by Deputy Gilmore. He made the reasonable point that a differentiation has to be made between those elements which relate to multi-complexes, to apartments and those which relate to more standard housing.

If estates are unfinished and planning enforcement proceedings have not been commenced by the authority within the relevant period, section 180 also provides that the planning authority must, if requested to do so by the majority, initiate the procedures in section 11 of the Roads Act to take the roads in charge. When they do so, they are precluded from considering the financial implications of taking the road in charge. Many of us had experiences in the past when this provision did not exist because roads issues were frequently used to frustrate the taking in charge process. The section is emphatic and no purpose would be served by the changes suggested in the motion tabled by the Labour Party. I accept they are well meaning but I do not think the change proposed is needed. It is not necessary for legislation to repeat what is already set down in law.

Whether a management company exists for a housing development, the existence of a management company does not override the legal obligation on developers to complete and maintain estates until they are taken in charge. Nor does it provide a mechanism for a local authority to offload its responsibilities. Elected members of local councils have responsibility if there is a common belief or scintilla of evidence that their manager or planning officials are attempting to offload on to residents responsibilities which should apply to local authorities.

The Planning and Development Act, enacted by the Oireachtas in 2000, recognised that management companies may be required, in appropriate circumstances, to provide for the maintenance of multi-unit functions. In considering this issue, we should not lose sight that management companies have an important role, for the benefit of all residents living in shared spaces. Apartment complexes have special management and maintenance needs because of the extent of shared or communal elements involved. Some of these such as corridors, hallways, lifts, stairs, roof and the overall structure of the building are clearly evident. Similarly, external areas such as car parks and planted areas serving the apartments are features of these developments.

Interdependence is an inherent feature of apartment living. This necessitates a range of rights and responsibilities with a mechanism for upholding, enforcing and, where necessary, reconciling these, in the interest of all the owners and residents. This is what management companies are intended to do. They are not intended to be rich sources of funding for people associated with developers. In addition, many housing estates have management companies to deal with the ongoing maintenance and management of the private elements to housing developments, such as looking after the green areas, landscaping, maintenance of community amenities and so on, as mentioned by Deputy Gilmore.

In recent weeks I was informed that some planning authorities now attach conditions to permissions for housing estates whose responsibilities are wider than the limited maintenance role that I have described. This matter was highlighted in a number of questions tabled by Deputy Murphy. This is not acceptable and in response I have asked the Department to obtain a report from planning authorities on their policies for attaching conditions relating to management companies to planning permissions for residential developments. While not all planning authorities have yet responded, initial indications are that practice varies across the country and this matter will need to be addressed. I will make it clear to all planning authorities that I expect planning law to be applied in a consistent manner. I will emphasise this approach in the draft management development guidelines that I will publish next week.

Deputy Stagg referred to Kildare County Council's misapplication of the relevant section of the planning Act. Members of that council have appointed a committee to report on the issue. The committee will not report to me, it is an internal committee of the council and will report to its SPC. I expect that the councillors will then act.

The planning Acts are framework ones and local authorities have to ensure that any conditions attached are fair, reasonable and enforceable. This has been the consistent thrust of advice from my Department. Local councillors should take this matter seriously and ensure it happens. As I already mentioned, next week I will launch the draft of modern guidelines for planning authorities on development management. Those guidelines will repeat the long-standing advice to local authorities on the conditions appropriate to attach to planning permissions. When I have studied the full results of the survey of local authority practice, I will consider whether any additional guidance to local authorities is necessary on my part. I will be pleased to issue them if necessary.

Whatever other excuses local authorities may have to act in the manner Deputy Stagg has portrayed it is not a shortage of funds. We have vastly increased the resources available to local government. Income available to local authorities through the local government fund rose from less than €800 million in 1999 to €1.26 billion this year. Last week, I announced a further 6% increase in the Exchequer contribution to the fund, which is well ahead of inflation. There is no excuse for any local authority to use the device of a management company to avoid its responsibilities.

The Government's overall goal is to build sustainable communities, not just housing units. At the same time we need to deal with the differing nature of housing now. Once the Law Reform Commission reports are published they will be examined in detail. For my part, I will review relevant guidelines in areas such as residential density and housing quality to ensure they are modern, quality driven and appropriate to our society's changing needs. The Government has delivered on housing and will continue to take necessary action. I thank the Deputies for raising the matter in the House. Once the Law Reform Commission has reported——

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