Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 450: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to resolve the situation associated with ghost estates; the role of the National Asset Management Agency in developing this plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18987/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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On 9 June 2011, I published the Final Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, entitled Resolving Ireland's Unfinished Housing Developments, together with my Department's response to the recommendations. Both reports are available on my Department's website - www.environ.ie.

The main recommendations of the Advisory Group were in respect of:

· driving a more co-ordinated and partnership approach between stakeholders;

· tackling public safety as an immediate priority;

· strengthening the legislative and policy framework to incentivise real engagement by developers, site owners and funders in working with local authorities and residents in resolving unfinished housing developments; and

· building confidence in the housing sector.

In my Department's policy response, I have outlined a range of actions to address these objectives, including the urgent resolution of public safety and other critical issues seriously impacting on the living conditions and quality of life for residents of unfinished developments; the development of formal liaison protocols between the various stakeholders - developers, financial institutions, residents, local authorities, approved housing bodies and my Department – to facilitate the sharing of information; and the prioritisation by local authorities of a number of unfinished developments to act as lead projects to demonstrate what can be achieved, building on the best practice Guidance Manual on Managing and Resolving Unfinished Housing Developments , which will be published shortly.

On 28 June, I chaired the first meeting of the National Co-ordination Committee which I have established to oversee implementation of the Advisory Group Report and the Government's response. The National Asset Management Agency is among the key stakeholders participating on the Committee which also includes representatives from my Department, local authorities, the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, financial institutions and the construction sector. The Committee will be meeting on an ongoing regular basis to oversee implementation with the aim of publishing a report on progress achieved within the next 12 months.

I am pleased to note that progress is already being made with regard to the public safety works required to improve the living conditions of existing residents on some unfinished estates. To date, I have made allocations totalling some €1.3 million to fifteen local authorities from the €5 million funding allocation made available to address immediate safety issues. The reduction in drawdown from this fund from previous provisional allocations reflects the fact that planning authorities are already making progress in securing the co-operation of developers, financial institutions and/or bond holders, thereby obviating the need to use Exchequer resources to fund such work. The types of works that have been approved to date include the fencing off of unsecured and hazardous areas, capping of pipes, installation of street lighting, and other works to secure sites. I will be making further allocations as applications are received from local authorities and assessed by my Department.