Barry Andrews (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

On behalf of the Minister, I thank Senators for their contributions to the debate and their broad welcome for the provisions and objectives of the Bill. A number of specific and general issues were raised and I hope, in the time available, to go through a number of them. There will, obviously, be an opportunity on Committee Stage to go through them in greater detail.

Many Senators expressed a concern that there should be transparency in the calculation of annual service charges, and that is guaranteed by the Bill and in the Government's approach which requires that there should be an annual service charge scheme. The Bill provides the opportunity to go through a non-exhaustive list of categories of matters that can be the subject to an annual service charge. That will provide some comfort to many owners in multi-unit developments regarding whether they are being charged fairly. Snagging is excluded from that potential list and that will give some comfort. There is also an obligation on unit owners to pay management charges.

Many Senators welcomed the provision on sinking funds. Most multi-unit developments have management companies that have sinking funds. Responsible directors should ensure there are sinking funds, but this puts matters on a statutory footing for the first time. Obviously there are developments that do not have sinking funds, so this is most welcome. It also applies to existing developments, so it will have a more comprehensive reach than might have first appeared, with a minimum contribution of €200 per unit per annum. Many Senators indicated there were many circumstances in which much higher charges are in place. In my experience, wherever owners take control of a management company the charges tend to be lower and one also finds there is a sinking fund and a more responsible approach.

On ownership and the issue of who controls the common area, the Government has taken the view that such areas should be transferred to owners' management companies at the earliest possible opportunity. The issue of units sold in a development that has not been completed prior to the Bill being enacted is dealt with in the legislation.

On dispute resolution, the Minister said we are now dealing with a court-based jurisdiction, which gives more impact. That will apply where mediation fails and there is an enormous appetite now for alternative dispute resolution methods to be employed. That is stitched into this Bill and requires parties to engage to the greatest extent possible.

In response to the point raised by Senator Regan, mixed developments involving apartment buildings and houses are covered by the Bill, but not traditional housing estates. One wonders whether things such as house rules would be useful in traditional housing estates, but that is something to be debated on Committee Stage. The property services regulatory authority is a licensing body and has no role in the companies which will have been incorporated under company law and are already subject to the Companies Registration Office and the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement.

On the problems Senator O'Donovan raised, the Bill will ensure an arm's-length relationship between the developer and the management agent and will ensure service charges cannot be used to complete developments or for snagging.

Senator Walsh raised the question of section 5. There is an obligation in that section to complete a development. The Law Reform Commission recommends the use of the bond mechanism by the planning authorities. That is specifically referred to in section 5 and is a matter for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

On Senator O'Toole's question, some similar issues may apply to ordinary housing estates but this applies only to mixed developments and specific apartments. I have lived in an apartment and the distinction between this and ordinary housing estates is that one does not know anyone else and there is no sense of community that one might have in an ordinary estate. This is why everyone welcomes this Bill as putting in place a mechanism to ensure these areas affecting them in common are dealt with properly. Some difficulties in extending the Bill to housing estates are the existence of different kinds of estates, such as holiday, retirement, gated and the more traditional developments. The Departments of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government are discussing common problems on this.

Senator Hannigan raised house rules and section 17(10) gives the Minister regulation-making powers. These may specify the matters which would be the subject of house rules.

To answer Senator Buttimer, section 3 applies to developments in which some units have been sold but the development is not complete, while section 4 applies to completed developments. Those sections will ensure the Bill will apply to both these categories and not just to new developments.

Senator Corrigan raised the issue of quora. I do not have an answer to that but it is a welcome proposal that one would have a minimum quorum. I am not sure of the position on that. Regarding the responsibilities of members of management companies, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement has issued very useful guidelines that would be a good follow-up to Senator Corrigan's very successful survey among her constituents.

I hope that answers some of the questions and I thank the Senators for their contributions and their broad welcome for the provisions in the Bill.