Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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341. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the problems being experienced by the residents of a housing development (details supplied) in County Laois; his plans to address these issues as a matter of priority; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11604/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The administration of issues relating to unfinished housing developments is a matter for the individual local authority involved. Each local authority has appointed an Unfinished Housing Development Co-ordinator; contact details can be found at: “Resolving Unfinished Housing Developments: Annual Progress Report on Actions to Address Unfinished Housing Developments”, published in November 2013, appends a Summary Report of the 2013 National Housing Development Survey. Riverside housing development was not inspected as part of the 2013 survey on the basis that it was recorded as substantially complete in the 2012 survey.

My Department understands that Offaly County Council is aware of the issues arising in Riverside housing development and that enforcement proceedings were commenced on 1 April 2010 for non-compliance with a number of conditions of planning permission, mainly related to drainage.

There has been on-going communication between the Council and the Receiver’s office in an effort to: a) identify the exact nature of the problems; and b) find a definitive engineering solution. An engineering solution has only recently been agreed and the Council now awaits the submission of a planning application from the Receiver for the rectification of the drainage issues.  It is anticipated that this application will be lodged in the next number of weeks.