Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 551: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if all local authorities will be requested to conduct an audit of the extent of unfinished housing estates, including an assessment of the number of new housing estates under construction that require monitoring; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3180/06]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 554: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the review by local authorities on the issue of management companies has been completed; if so, if the results will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3184/06]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 559: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if, in view of his and the Taoiseach's statements in Dáil Éireann concerning the operation of management companies in housing estates, all local authority managers have been instructed to ensure that all services in public areas normally provided by local authorities are removed from the remit of management companies. [3317/06]

Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 560: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if a report from each local authority manager in the operation of management companies whose remit includes public services normally provided by local authorities has been sought; and his views on what he has found to be the practice nationally. [3318/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 551, 554, 559 and 560 together.

My Department issued circular letter PD 1/06 on 25 January 2006 reminding local authorities of their obligations under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 regarding taking in charge of estates. The circular letter also clearly states that the existence of a management company to maintain elements of common buildings and carry out landscaping must not impact upon the decision by the authority to take in charge roads and related infrastructure where a request to do so is made. Each local authority has been directed to establish a policy addressing certain specified issues on the taking in charge of housing estates to be agreed by the members of the authority, and reported on to those members on a regular basis and at least once annually.

The circular letter also directed each local authority to submit a report to my Department detailing how each local authority is performing on taking in charge of estates. The report will contain information relating to the anticipated number of housing estates which will be taken in charge this year and how many houses will be affected; the number of housing estates that have not yet been taken in charge whose planning permission expired more than two and less than seven years ago; the number of housing estates which are finished or unfinished in line with the relevant planning permission; the action being taken to resolve the issue of unfinished estates; whether the planning authority has a stated policy in regard to taking in charge of housing estates and the average length of time it takes to take an estate in charge.

With regard to management companies, most planning authorities have now responded to my Department's request for a report on their policies regarding the attachment of conditions relating to management companies to planning permission for various types of residential developments. The position, so far, is that the majority of planning authorities do not attach conditions to planning permission requiring management companies to be established in the case of housing estates. A number do in specified circumstances, such as where there is a shared waste water treatment plant between a number of houses.

As already stated, the recent circular issued by my Department made clear that the existence of a management company does not remove the planning authority's statutory obligations, as set out in the 2000 Act, regarding taking an estate in charge. I am considering whether any further guidance should issue to planning authorities regarding planning conditions regarding management companies.