Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 4: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the actions he will undertake regarding unfinished housing estates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16233/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The Department is progressing a range of actions, with the co-operation of local authorities and other key stakeholders, to address the issue of unfinished or unoccupied estates. These actions include an accurate quantification, classification and mapping of the various types of unfinished or unoccupied estates on a county by county basis to understand the scale and distribution of the problem. I anticipate that, following a pilot exercise with one local authority, a comprehensive national inventory should be completed in the middle of the year.

The Department is also preparing a best practice policy manual which aims to identify the necessary responses to ensure satisfactory outcomes in tackling difficulties on specific sites in a co-ordinated and pro-active manner. The responses will require a range of interventions across a number of disciplines; there are issues of public safety, the provision of bonds and securities, environmental protection, building control and estate management.

Developers and owners of sites are required to ensure that they are left in a safe and secure condition. Local authorities are prioritising action to ensure that these obligations are discharged and that sites within their areas are properly secured from public access and, where necessary, are made structurally sound. In this regard, existing legislation such as the Derelict Sites Act 1990 and the Litter Acts 1997 to 2003, along with planning legislation, can be used to ensure developers and the owners of sites engage with local authorities in addressing specific difficulties. We will also keep the need for further legislative reforms to assist local authorities on this issue under review.

It is a matter for the National Asset Management Agency to consider how it deals with unfinished or incomplete estates that come within its remit. I will make the Department's data available to NAMA to inform its analysis.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Cuffe, on his first Question Time and I wish him well in his new role.

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Thank you.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank him for his response. This is a major problem throughout the country, of which the Minister of State is well aware, and the issue with regard to unfinished housing estates has been well documented in the media. To not know the amount of housing estates involved is ridiculous. Each local authority should know and have information to hand on the quantity in its area. It is beyond the stage of issuing a best practice policy manual as there are legacy housing estates that have been there since the Celtic tiger. Merely issuing guidelines, circulars or best practice manuals is not enough. The Minister of State briefly mentioned legislation on derelict sites and litter but we need to ensure these developments are completed. There needs to be watertight legislation to ensure developers will no longer be able to leave an unfinished estate and move on to the next project. It should be part of best practice to ensure it does not occur again. How much money will the Department set aside to complete developments where developers have gone bankrupt and are not in a position to complete developments?

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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To cut to the chase, we do not have a bottomless pit of money to throw at the problem and the responsibilities do not fall directly to the Department to address the multi-faceted issues which exist. On the first issue on what direct numbers we have, there are very different estimates depending on the source of information used. There is huge variation in the figures. For instance, the Construction Industry Federation stated there were approximately 35,000 completed but unsold units available for sale. However, a study by the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Analysis at NUI, Maynooth, put the total figure at more than 300,000 units.

The great Scottish town planner, Sir Patrick Geddes, summarised planning by stating there are three issues involved: survey, analysis and plan. What is most important is to survey the scale of the problem and then to analyse those figures. I am glad to state the Department is putting considerable resources into the initial survey of the scale of the problem. We will start with a pilot study in County Laois. Officials from the Department are not only doing a desktop study of the issue but they are going out and inspecting the unfinished developments so we can quantify the scale of the problem. That is hugely important.

When we get to analysing the problem there are three main issues: the very important issue of public safety; the completion and management of the essential infrastructures and amenities; and the long-term future and resolution of the sites themselves. These are three very distinct problems with different scales of response from the Department, the National Asset Management Agency and the local authority.

Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. What about situations where developers are high and dry, insolvent and not in a position to complete housing estates? All home owners purchase their homes in good faith with a view to all facilities being completed in the housing estate. We know that in ghost estates and derelict sites roads have not been completed, public lighting is not working and sewers may be broken. The people living there are desperate and need help and guidance. I am very disappointed that the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government does not have this information to hand but that it has to go out and inspect to know how bad the problem is. It shows how out of control is the situation. Will the Minister of State give hope to those living in housing estates where developers have gone bankrupt? Will they see action from the Government to help them in their dire need?

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I take that point but the last thing we want to do is rush headlong into proposing solutions when we have not adequately or accurately analysed the scale of the problem in the first instance. Last week, I took it upon myself not only to address the Irish Planning Institute conference but to spend an entire day listening to the various papers it put forward. There were very good addresses by some county planners from throughout the country, by the likes of Bill Nolan, pointing out the various aspects of the challenges we face. There was anecdotal evidence suggesting the scale of completely unfinished estates is not as high as some fairly strong headlines have suggested in recent days and we need to be careful on that. However, there is an onus on developers to carry out the development in accordance with the plans submitted and the local authority or the planning authority can take action based on that.

I am glad to state with regard to the loans taken over by the National Assets Management Agency, that it has a planning sub-committee headed by Willie Soffe, the former Fingal county manager. It will examine some of the planning aspects of the problem. The first port of call for individuals with unfinished facilities is their legal representatives but they can and should approach the local authority to ensure the planning conditions are being complied with, and look to the developers. Many of these developments do not come under the National Assets Management Agency and the matter can be taken up under civil law with the respective developer. Deputy Terence Flanagan knows as I do that very often an approach can be made to the developer in the first instance to try to address the outstanding issues, whether it be sewerage, lighting or roads. If issues of public safety are raised I would urge the home owner to go directly to the local authority because there is a range of legislation under which the local authority or the planning authority can take action.