Camillus Glynn (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after ''Seanad Éireann'' and substitute the following:

" notes the recent publication of the National Housing Development Survey which:

provides an authoritative analysis of the extent and location of vacant housing units in unfinished estates;

shows that there are 23,000 complete and unoccupied new units in these developments with a further 10,000 units near completion;

sets out a detailed analysis in relation to the availability of services (roads, lighting and footpaths) in these developments;

welcomes the establishment of a high-level expert group comprising the key stakeholders to advise on practical and policy solutions to ensure satisfactory completion or resolution of unfinished housing developments;

looks forward to the preparation of a code of practice by the group for managing and resolving issues in unfinished housing developments;

notes the intention that the group to finalise its works as a matter of urgency; and

welcomes the potential role of the social housing leasing initiative in matching up housing oversupply with social housing need to accelerate social housing delivery in the most cost effective manner achievable."

Ba mhaith liom fáilte a chur roimh an Aire Stáit. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, to the Seanad in which he played a key role for many years. I know he is committed to his brief as Minister of State with responsibility for housing.

We all accept that in the past number of years permissions were given in circumstances where they ought not to have been given. Nevertheless, I believe we have learned a vital lesson. I have been involved in public life for 31 years. I recall that during my time as a member of Westmeath County Council I, along with the late Deputy Gerry L'Estrange, who was also a member of the council, proposed a motion in regard to developers who were not discharging their responsibilities. Nothing has changed except the date.

I welcome the National Housing Development Survey. It brings our problems into clear focus but the Government has taken definitive steps to address the problem. The key results emanating from the report are significant. A total of 2,846 developments were inspected of which only 429, or 15%, are active. While it is difficult to be precise about the exact numbers of housing units approved in total on all these developments, estimates so far indicate a figure of 179,273 dwellings. There are 78,195 dwellings in the developments surveyed that are completed and occupied. A total of 23,250 dwellings are complete and vacant - that is the bad news - together with the 9,976 dwellings that are near completion. A total of 9,854 dwellings are at various stages of construction from site clearance, foundations up to wall pit level. There is planning permission for a further estimated 58,025 dwellings. They are not commenced and therefore do not pose immediate construction or site specific difficulties.

Ghost estates are a symptom not only of bad planning but of poor planning enforcement. Planning enforcement is very important but it is not a role of Government, rather of local authorities. I have stated that previously, not only in this House but when I was a member of Westmeath County Council. Many current members of the council are constantly articulating that view. There must be appropriate planning enforcement. Local authorities have that power. It is vested in them by statute.

We must be careful not to demonise all developers. There are very many responsible developers who not alone complete their developments but contribute in a positive way to life after they have completed the estates. We must dwell, unfortunately, on those who are not coming up to the plate, as it were, when they leave disasters behind them in estates in respect of a number of areas, including play areas. Most new estates will have a young population, and children require play areas.

The point about footpaths has been made. I recall an estate being taken in charge prior to my becoming a member of the council and the first action we had to take in the estimates of 1980 was to provide money to complete the footpaths. A patch job had been done by the developer which involved plastering the footpaths. Needless to say, the first winter frost that came lifted it. In terms of roads, I have seen estates that were left by developers in which one could bury bodies. The rate payers and the taxpayers of County Westmeath, as with those in other local authorities, had to pick up the tab. In terms of lighting, the ESB would get an order from the local authority but when it came to the money being paid over by the developer, that did not always happen. Unfinished houses are not a new phenomenon. One has only to travel around towns and villages to see what that means. Regarding flooding, there are brand new estates but one would need waders after one shower of rain to get through them. Tree planting is another issue that is not always taken on board by developers.

Housing is an important part of life in this country. In terms of the towns and villages in the various counties that have development, we must match the number of developments that are completed with the number of people on housing lists. I accept it is not always possible from a practical point of view, and I am sure the Minister of State will develop that point further when he responds. The local authorities have a role in acquiring a number of these properties, especially in the villages.

A point I argued strongly when I was a member of Westmeath County Council was that everyone cannot live in the major towns. The villages have to develop. There are many small communities that could and should have village status. They have grown significantly arising from the housing boom and they should have village status. There are private dwellings in those areas, some not complete, that could be taken in charge by the local authority. I am aware the Minister of State is very interested in this area and I look forward to his response.