Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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456. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will provide details of unfinished housing estates around the country that are to be demolished in 2014 and 2015; the cost of same; the criteria for deciding on demolition; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50169/13]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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471. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government where the ghost estates to be demolished are located; the level of completion of these ghost estates; if any attempts were made by local councils to bring those particular estates to completion; the costings that were made to assess the amount it would cost to do so; the amount of the allocated budget to finish these estates that has been availed of by the local councils in 2013; and the cost of the demolition of these ghost estates. [50501/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 456 and 471 together.

I am chairing the National Co-ordination Committee (NCC) on Unfinished Housing Developments to oversee implementation of the Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments, together with the Government's response to the recommendations. The Committee includes representatives from the Irish Banking Federation, local authorities, the Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency, NAMA and the construction sector. Site Resolution Plans (SRP’s) have been identified by the NCC as a key tool in resolving issues associated with unfinished housing developments. Such plans enable stakeholders, including developers, local authorities, financial institutions, NAMA and residents to collaborate in determining how best to pursue resolution of problematic sites. The process also entails working with stakeholders in identifying the best long-term solution for developments in terms of their configuration, use of vacant buildings and ownership. Such solutions also take account of the best interests of residents.

The NCC has produced a Guidance Manual on Resolving and Managing Unfinished Estates, a Key Stakeholders Code of Practice, and a Guide for Residents Living in Unfinished Housing Developments, all of which are available at . Other notable achievements included an assessment of the adequacy of current planning legislation and regulations via the legislative review group, as well as the public safety initiative which secured unsafe aspects of unfinished estates from a health and safety perspective. The NCC has achieved real progress in tackling the issues in unfinished estates as evidenced by the reduction of problematic estates from 2,846 when the Government took office to the current level of just over 1,200, a 53% reduction. It is anticipated that further progress will be made, further buoyed by the €10 million Site Resolution Fund recently provided for in Budget 2014.

It is inevitable however that a number of estates for a variety of reasons will not become viable, and in such cases a return to greenfield status may be the most pragmatic option. In this context relevant local authorities and financial institutions are identifying developments that might fail agreed viability criteria and to date my Department understands that some 40 developments, or more precisely uncompleted parts of same, at unspecified locations may be likely to be returned to greenfield usage. Other sites may emerge in time as unviable and be similarly treated.

My Department does not hold data on the specific sites involved, or on the cost of restoring them to greenfield status, as they are the responsibility of those who currently hold title to them and the cost of site clearance is a matter for them alone and not for my Department. Similarly, local authorities have neither the responsibility nor the right to complete estates which are not within their ownership.