Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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429. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to amend the definition of a multi unit development in the Multi Unit Development Act; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the vagueness of the definition includes all housing estate as opposed to apartment type developments; if he has carried out any enquiries into same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53746/13]

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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430. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has reviewed or intends to review the effectiveness or otherwise of sections 5, 8, 24 or any other section of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011; if so, the way in which he will do same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53751/13]

Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 429 and 430 together.

The position is that the scope of the Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009 was specifically extended to cover mixed developments, including housing estates with owners' management companies (OMCs), in response to concerns expressed during Seanad discussions on the Bill. These concerns arose from the fact that the scope of the published Bill was limited to apartment developments and did not cater for the many mixed developments containing apartments, duplex units, and detached, semi-detached or terraced houses. This extension of the scope of the Bill required, inter alia, amended definitions of 'multi-unit development' in section 1 and the current section 2(2) which applies the sections set out in Schedule 2 to multi-unit developments containing houses, whether detached, semi-detached or terraced, and which have an OMC structure. It appears that the requirement to establish an OMC was a requirement of the planning permission in many of these cases.

I understand that this practice of requiring the establishment of an OMC in housing developments has ceased following instructions from the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. The taking-in-charge of such developments is a matter for the relevant local authority and I am aware that the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government has issued a guidance document to the local authorities on this matter.

While I have no immediate plans to amend the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011, the operation of the Act is being kept under review in my Department.