Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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Question 22: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the legislation that governs the provision of the bonds provided by builders and developers; if he has undertaken an examination of the status of bonds in relation to incomplete housing estates in situations where the development has been taken over by National Asset Management Agency, by a financial institution or where the developer is in receivership if such bonds cover the full period of development or are limited to a 24 month period; if such bonds generally are related to a particular development or they are related to a particular developer thereby, possibly, covering several developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22238/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Sections 34(4)(g) and 180(2)(b) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provide that a planning authority may attach a condition to a planning permission, requiring the giving of adequate security for the satisfactory completion of a development, and, if the development is not subsequently completed satisfactorily, may apply the security to that satisfactory completion. My Department's Circular Letter PD 1/08 on Taking in Charge of Residential Developments / Management Arrangements states that planning authorities must take all necessary measures, in particular through securing adequate bonds, inspection of construction and enforcement action, when necessary, to ensure that developers complete residential developments to a standard that is in compliance with the planning permission granted.

In relation to bonds, the circular states that, in the case of residential development, planning conditions must require the giving of sufficient security prior to commencement of development and that planning authorities must ensure that they are in a position to draw down the security in cases where a developer fails satisfactorily to complete a residential development or phase of a development, within the specified period.

The circular also states that the amount of the security, and the terms on which it is required to be given, must enable the planning authority, without cost to itself, to complete the necessary services (including roads, footpaths, water mains, sewers, lighting and open space) to a satisfactory standard in the event of default by the developer and that the security condition must also provide for the recalculation of the amount specified in the condition by reference to the House Building Cost Index (or the Consumer Price Index), if the development to which the permission relates is not commenced within a specified period after the granting of the permission.

My Department is progressing a range of actions, with the cooperation of local authorities and other key stakeholders, to address the issue of unfinished or unoccupied estates. These actions include in the first instance an accurate quantification, classification and mapping of the various types of unfinished or unoccupied estates on a county by county basis to understand the scale and distribution of the problem. Following completion of a pilot exercise with one local authority, a comprehensive national inventory is now under way and should be completed in the middle of the year.

My Department is also preparing a best practice policy manual which aims to identify the necessary responses to ensure satisfactory outcomes in tackling difficulties on specific sites in a co-ordinated and pro-active manner. The responses will require a range of interventions across a number of disciplines – there are issues of public safety, the provision of bonds and securities, environmental protection, building control and estate management. It is a matter for the National Asset Management Agency to consider how it deals with unfinished and incomplete estates that come within its remit.