Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It does not. If the roads and the lighting are not up to scratch and if it is not finished, then the public could not take over such a liability. If there are issues, however, I presume they would have to be resolved. In other words, if there is an estate that has inferior, insufficient or inadequate water infrastructure, that is a problem for that estate to resolve.

I am aware that there is an official list of unfinished estates, and the Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is dealing with that. As far as I am aware, they are in the process of transition to finished estates which can then be taken over. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan is bringing into public ownership a transparently listed number of estates in the context of services.

On the question of the free allowance, the programme for Government provides for a free allowance for every household. The approach to providing the free allowance - I acknowledge the questions from the Senators present - and the level of such allowance is being considered by an interdepartmental group being chaired by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, which will be bringing proposals to Government on this matter shortly. In other words, all of the issues are being debated, they will be finalised fairly soon, and when they are there will be transparency and a full debate. There is no reason for concern that it would not be discussed fully here in the House.

Senator Keane asked about assets. At the time, I understood her to be speaking about staff, not assets. When staff transfer, the 12-year rule applies in that there are up to 12 years in that arrangement. While the Bill provides for the transfer of all assets, there is a commencement date on which they will transfer.

This means that the assets will not transfer simultaneously or in any given year but will be subject to due process.

The book value of the assets is deemed to be approximately €11 billion, a significant sum. Each asset and the liabilities attaching to it must be processed individually. Nothing is being rushed and the legislation provides for transfers to proceed when appropriate. Clearly, however, the quicker the process proceeds, the better. If there are differences of opinion or issues arise in respect of certain assets, these must first be resolved before the transfer proceeds. For example, in the case of an asset which has a community facility such as a football field attached to it, decisions must be taken on who will take over the facility, access and so forth. Each local authority will have different issues to address.