Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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539. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the taking in charge of an estate (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52741/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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In December 2015, my Department made a call for local authorities to supply details of relevant estates that required to be taken in charge in order to draw up a national list of housing estates not taken in charge. This exercise was carried out under the National Taking-in-Charge Initiative (NTICI) to provide a list of estates not yet taken in charge. The list is available at the following link: .

Louth County Council, the relevant planning authority in this case, supplied information to my Department in this regard. A list of 190 estates to be taken in charge was provided by Louth County Council, 75 of which at that time, had valid taking-in-charge applications with the local authority. The estate in question was listed as an estate to be taken in charge that had a valid application.

Subsequently, my Department announced a funding stream under the NTICI for which the local authorities could make applications. Louth County Council did not make an application to my Department for funding under this programme.

Earlier this year, an update on estates to be taken in charge was requested by my Department from all local authorities. A response is awaited from Louth County Council. The Deputy may wish to consult with Louth County Council directly to determine the status of the taking-in-charge of this estate.

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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540. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of a report on the NTICI being finalised by his Department which will include findings and recommendations on sustaining progress on the taking in charge of estates issues; the amount of the €10 million in funding for taking in charge issues that was allocated to Louth County Council; if this funding can be used for estates other than ghost estates in which no bond is in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52746/17]

Declan Breathnach (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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541. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of housing estates in each county that have not been taken in charge by local authorities in view of the fact that no bond is in place; the estates, by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52759/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 540 and 541 together.

The taking-in-charge of housing estates is a matter for the relevant local authority under section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended).

In an attempt to enhance learning and systems development and to accelerate the taking-in-charge process of housing estates, my Department launched the National Taking-in-Charge Initiative (NTICI) in April 2016. The Initiative was set up on a time-bound basis in order to both better understand and stimulate the taking-in-charge process, due to the backlog of estates waiting to be taken in charge.

Under the terms of the NTICI, which was underpinned by €10m in funding, developments subject to valid taking-in-charge applications were eligible for inclusion in the call for funding proposals. €7.7 million of the allocated funding was paid to local authorities in respect of 330 developments, containing some 13,400 units.

Louth County Council did not make an application to my Department for funding under this programme.

It is important to note that the NTICI was not intended to establish a rolling annual funding programme to take-in-charge all estates not yet taken-in-charge, but was instead intended to develop better knowledge and systems to support the taking-in-charge of further estates over time. Therefore, there is no corresponding funding line after 2016.

A report on the 2016 NTICI is currently being finalised by my Department which will help to inform future taking-in-charge plans. It is envisaged that the report will be published in Q1 2018.

With regard to the number of housing estates in each county that have not yet been taken in charge due to no bond being in place, I expect that data of this nature will be published as part of the 2016 NTICI report.