Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)

I thank Deputy Rabbitte for sharing time with me to discuss this very important legislation. Obviously, multi-unit developments are not as common in a rural constituency such as Kildare South as in cities and larger towns. In our case the management structures are in place for smaller developments. The retrospective aspect of this Bill regarding existing developments is more pertinent to my position than with regard to any future developments.

Bad habits and procedures have taken hold and one can see the effect of that on a small development. In one case of which I am aware there are four apartments. Investors own three of them while the fourth is owner-occupied. That person is a director of the company but she cannot get any sense or logic from the other people. One of the apartments is now without electricity and is being used for all sorts of anti-social behaviour and, as such, is a deterrent to having any type of organisation. What could be a very nice apartment block is now marked as a centre for anti-social behaviour.

I believe the county manager in such instances. There were only four apartments. Where was the logic or sense in putting a management committee in place? One of the investors is from Cork, one is from Dublin and the other is unknown. The fourth apartment is owned by a local woman whose husband had a stroke. She is now the only director in place and she is trying to organise everything. All the refuse bins, including hers, are full as a result of the anti-social behaviour of others. What can she do?

I hope the Minister and all the spokespeople will not just focus on the big developments, which might be common in their constituencies and where there is such demand for action. There is also a need to focus on small developments. The Bill identifies areas in that regard. How can this single person try to get some aspect of normality to her apartment block? One has the investor versus the home owner and it just does not work in such small numbers. Consider the cost factor and the sinking fund for getting repairs and so forth carried out. This woman arranges to have the grass cut and gets everything else done. She has asked everyone else to deal with it but they will not. Why should they? They are getting their money into the bank, probably from social welfare, on foot of leasing the property. They feel there is no need for them to be involved in anything else. It is a disaster zone.

I blame solicitors for many aspects of the property bubble. They allowed people to buy properties from plans and drawings, without knowing what would happen with them. Of course, the developments were not carried out according to plan. The next move was to approach the public representative to find out why the roads, lights and so forth were not completed. It is the same with these management structures. It is a disaster. I hope that in considering this issue we will not just look at the big developments and resolve to do something about them. It is vital to consider the two to four unit developments. That is where, in many instances, families, and especially senior citizens, have tried to set up home for their final days and tried to create a family atmosphere.

I hope the Minister will ensure that the retrospective problems created by bad management and bad habits, the investor versus the home owner, will be rectified and that action will be taken to overcome the problems suffered by the people to whom I have referred.

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