Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Again, on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, I will answer this. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue on the taking in charge of private housing estates by local authorities.

With regard to the specific development in the Deputy's constituency, I have to emphasise that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage is specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in respect of any particular case in which a planning authority or the board is or may be concerned. Therefore, my comments today on the Minister's behalf must at all times be general and will refer to the process relating to the taking in charge of housing estates. I will not refer to the specific estate mentioned in the Deputy's question.

First, all planning authorities are required to have a policy on taking in charge within their respective functional areas. That is in accordance with planning Circular PD 1/08, which was issued on 26 February 2008. Second, the legislative process for the taking in charge of housing estates by local authorities is set out in section 180 of the Act. The prescribed process in this regard applies to residential developments consisting of two or more dwellings that have been granted planning permission under section 34. Under section 180(1), the planning authority is obliged to initiate the taking-in-charge process where requested by either the developer of, or by the majority of owners of the dwellings in, the estate in question. However, this is subject to the development being completed to the satisfaction of the authority and in accordance with the permission and any conditions attached thereto.

Where developments have not been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority, and where enforcement proceedings in this connection have not been commenced by the planning authority within four years of the expiry of the planning permission relating to a development, section 180(2)(a) provides that the planning authority shall, where requested by the majority of owners of the houses involved, initiate the taking-in-charge procedures under section 11 of the Roads Act 1993, as amended. Where this particular approach is being progressed, the authority may apply the security or development bond that was provided as part of the planning application for the purposes of ensuring the satisfactory completion of the development.

With regard to estates that have not been competed in a satisfactory way, local authorities have been advised to draw up a priority list of requests from residents for the taking in charge of estates within their functional areas, taking into account factors such as the date of the request, the condition of the estate, the length of time that it has been left in an unfinished state and the funding resources available to complete such estates. Furthermore, where the calling-in of the development bond is not possible, section 180(2)(a) provides that the initiation of the taking-in-charge procedures under section 11 of the Roads Act 1993 shall not preclude the planning authority concerned from pursuing a developer for any costs incurred by the authority in respect of necessary works undertaken on a development to enable it to be taken in charge by that authority.

To conclude the taking-in-charge process where the development has been deemed to have been satisfactorily completed, a local authority is required to make a declaration under section 11 of the Roads Act 1993 following a proposal by the executive. The making of such a declaration, which effectively confirms that the authority is prepared to take over responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of the public works elements of the estate, is a reserved function of the elected members of a local authority and, therefore, the decision to take any particular estate or estates in charge is ultimately one for the elected members of the local authority who, by way of declaration made under the Roads Act 1993, will make such a decision.

In addition, it should be noted that financial decision-making and the accountability of local authorities is a matter for the elected members of a local authority, who have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which includes the adoption of the annual budget of the local authority. In this regard, section 103 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, provides for the local authority budgetary process. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its spending priorities in the context of the annual budgetary process, having regard to both locally identified needs and the funding resources available to the local authority. This includes the taking in charge of housing estates.

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