Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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220. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the extent to which funding made available over the past five years for the completion of unfinished estates in the administrative areas of the various local authorities has been sufficient to meet the requirements to his and the local authorities' satisfaction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44642/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Since 2010, an annual national housing survey of unfinished housing developments has been conducted during the summer months to monitor progress. In that period, the number of unfinished housing developments has decreased by approximately two-thirds, from nearly 3,000 in 2010 to 992 in 2014. The detailed findings of the annual surveys, annual progress reports and other useful publications and information in relation to Unfinished Housing Developments are available on the Housing Agency’s website at:

As Minister for Housing and Planning and Coordination of Construction 2020, I chair the National Coordination Committee on Unfinished Housing Developments. The Committee has adopted a collaborative approach amongst its constituent members to promote the work of resolving the housing situation faced by residents of unfinished housing developments.

The Government has taken a number of significant steps to address the issue of Unfinished Housing Developments. My Department launched the Public Safety Initiative (PSI) in March 2011, which provided funding to address immediate public safety issues. The types of works that have been approved to date under the PSI include the fencing off of unsecured and hazardous areas, capping of pipes, installation of street lighting and other works to secure sites. Under the PSI, there were a total of 144 claims in respect of 23 local authorities which resulted in €3.628 million being drawdown.

To assist further in addressing the legacy of unfinished housing developments, Budget 2014 contained a special provision, in the form of a targeted €10m Special Resolution Fund (SRF). The SRF is designed to encourage the resolution of the remaining tranche of unfinished developments identified in the National Housing Development Survey 2013 and, particularly, those developments not likely to be resolved in the normal way through solely developer/owner/funder action because of the presence of specific financial barriers. The SRF was particularly targeted to address the remaining unfinished developments with residents living in them and, in particular, any developments that local authorities identified, for the purposes of the Local Property Tax exemption, as in a seriously problematic condition.

On 2 May 2014, SRF allocations to 86 housing developments across the country were announced. Further information is available at the following weblink:

This public investment aimed to leverage an additional €12m from third parties (developers/lenders/bonds) which will be invested in these estates. The SRF has enabled very substantial progress to be made in resolving as many of the remaining unfinished developments as possible.

The 2015 National Housing Development Survey and the Annual Progress Report are due for completion shortly and I will be publishing the results.  I am confident that good progress is continuing to be made in resolving unfinished developments and the reactivation of sites is now evident throughout the country.