Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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59. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps he is taking to assist local authorities taking over housing estates and developments from private developers when these estates and developments need additional infrastructure investment for issues such as lighting, roads, and wastewater infrastructure. [22152/22]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, will be aware of the many families and homeowners who are left in limbo because neither the developer nor the local authority is taking responsibility for infrastructure in their estate. Lighting, footpaths and road quality are deteriorating and nobody is stepping in. While this is a matter for each local authority, due to the capital expenditure required many cannot afford these interventions. Would the Minister of State be willing to put in place a specific funding stream to assist these families?

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Cairns for her question.

The Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and here referred to as the Act, and the Water Services Acts 2007 to 2018 set out the statutory provisions relating to the taking in charge of housing estates by planning authorities and Irish Water where it is appropriate to do so.

Section 180 of the Act sets out the process to be followed in relation to the taking in charge of housing estates where a development is considered to have been satisfactorily completed, as well as where it has not been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority. It is a matter for the relevant planning authority, as the Deputy quite rightly pointed out, to agree to take in charge any individual housing estate.

When taking in charge an estate under section 180 of the Act, the planning authority agrees to take in charge the roads, footpaths, public lighting and open spaces associated with the development. With regard to water-related infrastructure such as sewers, water mains or service connections within the attendant grounds of a development, these, which are initially taken in charge by the planning authority, must then be transferred to Irish Water by ministerial order pursuant to section 12 of the Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013.

Ultimately, progression of individual developments through the taking-in-charge process is a matter for the relevant housing developer, the residents in such developments and the relevant local authorities following the procedures set out clearly in section 180 of the Act.

Under section 30 of the Act, I, in my role as Minister of State with responsibility for planning, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, are precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or the board is concerned.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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I appreciate that the Planning and Development Act locates this as a local authority issue but that is of little consolation to the thousands of people affected. Families and homeowners with whom I have been in contact in towns such as Clonakilty, Kinsale and Skibbereen are being left in limbo and somebody needs to step up to help them. The infrastructure in their housing estate is either deficient or deteriorating and the original developer in many cases is no longer around. The local authority is refusing to take responsibility for the estate until existing issues, which would cost tens of thousands of euro to rectify, are resolved.

Currently, there is no way out for these families. After years of campaigning, and in a piecemeal fashion, some of these issues eventually get solved.

The situation is compounded by the families having to pay property tax but not receiving services that they need. That is not good enough. As Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, what will Deputy Peter Burke do to help resolve the issue?

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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There is provision in the Act for housing estates that have not been taken in charge in terms of what action the residents can take to compel the local authority to commence the process. It is up to the local authority then to judge the development in terms of the completion to the prescribed planning permission.

Over the past decade we had to respond to in excess of 3,000 ghost estates and put in key public infrastructure to underwrite them on foot of a significant recession in this country where the economy crashed and the Department had to grapple with it.

Now the process is in place. The Act is robust and strong. Essentially, to answer the Deputy's specific question, the residents have a mechanism there clearly set down in the Act in terms of the expiry of four years of the planning permission where they can take action and request the local authority to take the estate in charge.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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The Minister of State has to appreciate the frustration of families in these cases because they are continually pleading for assistance and too often the only solution proposed is for them to fund the works themselves and then the local authority can take over. The problem is this system is set up to leave nobody responsible. Developers, local authorities, Irish Water and the Department are all playing pass the parcel while families in some cases cannot let their children out to play or older residents cannot walk because of the crumbling footpaths and broken lighting. This type of laissez-faireapproach defines housing policy. This is a situation where the Minister of State could make a concrete difference to families in residential estates across the country.

I am also wondering what practical measures the Minister of State is taking to prevent this happening in the future and what regulation enforcement is in place to ensure developers put in place and maintain the infrastructure they should.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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There are very robust mechanisms in place now to ensure the legacy of a decade ago-----

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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Obviously not, or this would not be happening.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I would appreciate it if the Deputy would let me finish. I did not interrupt her.

I said there are a number of mechanisms in place now to ensure this does not happen again. I mentioned that we had almost 3,000 ghost estates in this country, and we have changed the law to ensure that this does not happen again. There are mechanisms to ensure that developers have bonds in place that guarantee that planning permissions will be completed as prescribed. The local authority has the independence to hold them to account on that. That process is clearly set out in legislation. Also, subsequent to that and with regard to the taking-in-charge process, it is clearly set out in the Act that residents can request the local authority to take estates in charge.

The Department has had huge funding streams over the last decade to try to respond to massive remediation plans to install infrastructure in estates throughout the country. Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of the local authority to do that and to hold to account developers who are required to finish estates to the level that is prescribed in the planning permission.