Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. Most new estates have management companies. In many such estates houses are built with large numbers of apartments around them. In the past, local authorities were able to take private estates in charge but that is fairly difficult to do now. As far as I can see, that is not going to happen with most new estates.

I am trying to draw attention to the fact that people who own their own homes, who have paid anything from €200,000 to €500,000 for those homes, have to seek permission for virtually everything. If they want to erect a sign or install a disability bay, they have to ask. They are begging for permission for things related to their own properties, having spent a fortune on them. This really needs to be looked at. It is not fair that people cannot have a barbecue or put an alarm on their house unless they get permission. If the Minister of State bought a house in the morning, he would not expect to be told he cannot do X or Y in it or that he needs permission to do it. That is the problem. It really needs to be looked at because it is not fair on the people concerned.

As I said, there are three main areas of responsibility for management companies and the first two are reasonable, in terms of maintaining public areas and so on. The third area is the contentious one because it involves interference in the properties and control over private homes. OMCs can go into people's home. They have to seek permission to do so but the owners have to give them permission. I am talking here about private houses for which people have paid a fortune. There is something seriously wrong in that situation.

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