Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

I appreciate the Minister's response with regard to the circular setting out what local authorities should and should not take in charge. The key issue concerns timeframes and bonds. The problem concerns the situations where estates are not being taken in charge for between seven and 13 years. The solution is quite simple. Guidelines should set out much higher bonds which developers must pay, bonds which are worth losing. If an estate is not completed to the satisfaction of the local authority after, for example, an interval of five years, the developer would lose the entirety of that bond. This must be a bond worth losing because currently it is only about €10,000 or €11,000. If it is a bond worth losing then the local authority could use that money to finish the job. This is the key reform that needs to be put in place.

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