Tom Morrissey (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister and thank him for being here for this important debate. I support the motion moved by my colleague, Senator Dardis. He clearly set out the broad elements of the issues raised in my party's motion. The motion before us refers to public apprehension about the role of management companies in new housing estates and apartment blocks, and the charges imposed on residents. Many residents in my constituency of Dublin North are concerned by the factors outlined by my party colleague, namely, the obligation to join a management company and pay a large sum and the uncertainty about their level of influence within that management company.

People are worried about the link between planning permission and the establishment of a management company, who exactly has responsibility to complete, maintain and repair the infrastructure and the non-participation of their neighbours in the management company or their non-payment of the management company charge. I will outline one brief story. A person who bought a house three years ago in a particular estate in north Dublin contacted me. As part of the contract, he had to agree to pay a management company for the upkeep of the estate, which so far has amounted to €500 per annum. The estate has both houses and apartments and all parts of it, including a green, are open to the public. It is not a gated community.

This person opposes these fees for the following reasons. He believes that buyers have already paid for the facilities, as the local authority demands a development contribution from developers, a cost the person believes was passed directly on to the home buyers. He also believes that, as there is no local taxation in this country per se, the costs to the local authorities have already come from general taxation. The citizen believes his local authority has abdicated its responsibilities, as the authority is prepared to service older estates by repairing footpaths and cutting grass. Given that part of the fee the person must pay includes public liability insurance, and given that the green and footpaths are open to the public, he believes it is the local authority's responsibility to take on this insurance burden. Most important, this irate home owner sees management companies as "a sham". This individual claims that in his estate the management company is a "shelf company" controlled by the developer, and that the only way to make the company do its job is through the courts.

Imagine the stress this situation causes a new home owner, irrespective of the accuracy of every claim, and his many neighbours. We all know that even the smallest things can infuriate one when it comes to one's home, or when one feels one's family is being badly treated. The gentleman who contacted me pointed out a simple example whereby he claims the builder did not install proper TV points in the houses and, therefore, people must install illegal aerials or get satellite dishes which, he claims, the company states people cannot put on the sides of their houses.

It is this type of simple annoyance, multiplied across homes and apartments, which creates the public concern referred to in our motion. In the case I outlined, the owners are resolved to setting up a residents' committee with the long-term goal of removing the management company. That is the level of frustration, the feeling of zero control or input, even though one pays for the privilege.

The issue of control is important. Even though management companies were supposed to provide residents with joint ownership over communal areas, the concern is that they merely formally install the developer, or a management company linked to the developer, in the position of power. I read of ridiculous management company contracts which grant the home owner one vote and the developer 1,000 votes. I have also read of residents not being able to call an AGM until every apartment in a complex is sold.

What do home owners get for their money? It is difficult to find out. A household may pay €500, €1,000, or more, but has no inkling as to how or whether the management company uses the funds to maintain infrastructure. In Malahide, in a managed estate, which is an extension of an estate already taken in charge, a house owner pays €1,250. This includes public liability insurance on infrastructure not yet provided, as the estate is still a building site. Does the builder not already insure that estate? The owner of a two-bedroom apartment in Balbriggan pays €1,100 per year. This does not cover refuse charges. A two-bedroom apartment in Tyrrelstown costs a staggering €1,400 per annum. Again, this does not include refuse charges. No one likes to be in a position where he or she pays something for nothing.

The public is right to be concerned if there is a transfer, no matter how subtle or complex, of responsibility from local authorities to the home owner for the maintenance of public infrastructure, such as roads, footpaths, sewers, water mains and public lighting in their housing estates. The management company appears to be the vehicle of transfer. What are the Minister's views on reports that existing or prospective home owners face zero choice on whether a management company is established, zero input into the annual charge residents in their estate or block will face, and zero information on what infrastructure their hard-earned money is spent on? I understand the Minister has taken some steps to clarify matters and address concerns but more needs to be done.

If new appropriate measures have been considered to ensure local authorities take housing estates in charge, and where and when they should do so, what was the outcome of these deliberations? If they have not been considered, will the Minister consider doing so as soon as possible? The same applies on any new appropriate restrictions to prevent the attaching of planning conditions requiring management companies to be established in housing estates, as a means of confusing responsibility between councils and home owners.

These are not vexatious arguments. They emanate from genuine frustration among new home owners, many of whom are young first-time buyers. They emanate from a frustration about simple things such as unfinished footpaths, unfinished or uncapped walls, poor drainage and broken street lights. On the face of it, these may seem to be small matters. However, they generate strong collective ire among a group of residents, particularly when they investigate only to find they are powerless, or that they pay money for no apparent return, or both.

I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for listening to our views. I invite him to set out how he feels he can remove this source of exasperation from home owners across the country.