Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach, Deputy Deenihan, to the House.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State. I wish to raise a matter that is affecting a large number of residents in housing estates in my constituency of Galway East and which is replicated across the country.It relates to people being left to wait in perpetuity for their housing estates to be taken in charge by local councils. The estates face a plethora of issues ranging from building companies being in receivership to financial institutions holding bonds that receivers cannot access because of the preferential creditors rules. For example, Abbey Trinity in Tuam, County Galway, has been waiting 40 years to be taken in charge and Elm Court in Tuam is facing into its 22nd year of waiting. These are only two of seven estates in the Tuam area that are in the same situation.

Such delays are staggering, as is the fact that the duty to take estates in charge has not been fulfilled. It does not augur well for estates like Dunard in Craughwell, County Galway, which was built at the start of the boom and whose bond is with IBRC. Galway County Council has no funds from that bond to complete the estate, which is in a bad condition. The council's hands are tied. Without further funds, it is in a cul-de-sac.

Many of the estates in question are falling into disrepair, posing health and safety threats. Home owners across the county who bought their properties in good faith are caught in a quagmire, finding that they have no security. Nor do they have clarity on the question of who will mend their footpaths, maintain their street lighting, take care of the general upkeep of their estates and ensure that full snag lists have been completed. It is unfair that home owners, through no fault of their own, have been left in limbo. Home owners across Ireland are struggling with this situation, as it can compromise basic services and standards and raise concerns about health and safety. I saw where raw sewage was being pumped into an estate's common area before flowing into some residents' properties. Not only does this affect them, but also the well-being of communities in the estate.

I hope that the Minister of State can provide some relief for those who have been affected, some of whom have been waiting in excess of 40 years for help.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I have been asked by my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, to speak on this matter, which concerns almost every Member. I am glad to respond to it.

On behalf of the Government and my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Coffey, who has special responsibility in this area, the Minister, Deputy Kelly, is pleased to report that the number of unfinished housing developments nationally has decreased by approximately two thirds since 2010 from nearly 3,000 in 2010 to 992 in 2014. Since 2010, an annual national housing survey of unfinished housing developments has been conducted to monitor and focus progress. The national co-ordination committee on unfinished housing developments, which the Minister of State chairs, drives the implementation of the recommendations of Resolving Ireland's Unfinished Housing Developments - Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, which was published in May 2011.

A key contributor to the significant improvement in the situation has been the development of site resolution plans, SRPs. These plans are agreed between residents, developers, funders and local authority personnel for the finalisation of works on site to render estates as habitable as possible. According to the 2014 national housing survey, 587 estates are going through the SRP process.

Budget 2014 contained a special provision in the form of a targeted €10 million special resolution fund, SRF, to assist further in addressing the legacy of unfinished housing developments. The SRF does not replace the predominantly developer-funder-receiver-driven resolution process for unfinished developments, but can complement it. On 2 May, allocations of the €10 million SRF were announced in respect of 86 housing developments. This public investment is expected to leverage an additional investment of €12 million from third parties.

Recognising the urgency of dealing with public safety issues on unfinished developments, the Government also created a €5 million public safety initiative, PSI, in March 2011. A total of 144 estates qualified for and received funding amounting to €3.628 million under this scheme by the end of 2014.

The general scheme of the Planning and Development (No. 2) Bill, which was recently published and is expected to be enacted by the end of this year, proposes to improve and streamline the taking-in-charge process. As part of a wider overhaul of the arrangements in this area, my Department is seeking to determine the number of residential developments with developer-provided stand-alone water treatment systems and-or wastewater treatment plants that are not connected to public water or wastewater networks. A pilot project focusing on the situation in a number of local authority areas is under way and will assist in identifying problems and costing possible solutions.

Notwithstanding all of the initiatives that I have mentioned, it must be accepted that ultimate responsibility for the resolution of unfinished housing developments rests with the owners, developers and receivers. It is a matter for local authorities, using development bonds and other securities and working with the stakeholders, to identify funding and agree works to bring developments to a standard ready for taking in charge. The Government will support their efforts in this regard and the national co-ordination committee will drive collaborative solutions.

Lorraine Higgins (Labour)
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I welcome the fact that the Government will support local authorities in taking estates in charge. I hope this includes financial support. Leaving the responsibility to owners, developers and receivers when there are no funds in any of their accounts is not good enough. I also welcome the fact that a Bill to streamline the taking-in-charge process will be before the Houses. However, I will caution the Minister of State, in that this is not a matter of unfinished housing estates, but of incomplete ones. Different criteria apply. I hope that major efforts will be made to sort out the estates, particularly those in Galway because it is the area that I know best. I will write to the Department to ensure that it happens.

Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North-West Limerick, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Higgins for raising this matter. It is one that touches every Member. In my constituency, there are a number of incomplete housing estates. Action must be taken, which people expect the Government and local authorities to drive. I am pleased that the Senator raised this matter and am sure that her points will be taken on board by the Minister and the Minister of State.