I am here to talk about increasing funding and resources for local authorities to take housing estates in charge. I want to highlight a case in my town, Millstreet, namely, Tanyard Wood. It is the largest housing estate in County Cork that has not been taken in charge. In 2007, the council lodged an appeal to take charge of the estate because the developer went bust. It has been almost ten years and nobody has taken charge of the estate. Tanyard Wood sits in no man's land at the moment. If a child or elderly person falls on the estate-----

The Senator referred to 2007 onwards. Perhaps she could go through that again slowly.

By 2007, the developer had gone bust and therefore, Cork County Council submitted an appeal to take charge of the estate. It has been almost ten years and it still has not taken charge of the estate. It sits in no man's land. The estate has not been maintained. No proper maintenance at all is happening. It is up to a residents' association to do that work, which is ad hoc because it is not solidified. I have been in the estate. The footpaths are broken, overgrowth is everywhere, there are potholes and there is no adequate signage to state that children are playing. It is a large estate with families. People bought houses and there are also some social houses in the area.

This is not the fault of Cork County Council because I have worked with it and it has been forthcoming about the situation. The problem is that it does not have funding. This is not just happening in my area; it is also happening in other places where estates are not being taken in charge and, therefore, residents do not know who to call if something happens. They are left alone. Tanyard Wood is unique because nobody has taken charge of the estate for ten years. As I said, local authorities are doing their best, but the reality is they do not have the funding, staffing or resources to progress these estates. We are asking councils to do snag lists and surveys. Uisce Éireann will take charge of part of the works, but in the interim between now and when the council takes charge, who will take care of the maintenance? What happens if somebody falls? Who will take care of that?

The residents are not asking for much. People bought their houses and expect to live in a place where the bare minimum has been done. We need clear timelines. Interim measures are required to ensure residents are not left feeling unsafe or conditions are allowed to deteriorate while progress drags on. People bought homes in the area in good faith. They did not sign up to live in an estate with broken infrastructure, unclear lines of responsibility and ongoing safety risks. The ask today is simple. I ask the Minister of State to outline the additional funding and supports that will be provided to local authorities like Cork County Council to accelerate the taking in charge process. What measures can be put in place to ensure that estates like Tanyard Wood are not left waiting years for a resolution?

At the heart of this are families, communities and people who want to live well and have nice homes and a nice area. That is not too much to ask. They have waited almost ten years at this point. It is reaching a point where the estate is becoming dangerous. Something has to be done about it.

I thank Senator Ryan for giving me the opportunity to update the House on the taking in charge of housing estates. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy James Browne.

It is important at the outset that I point out that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, the Minister with responsibility for planning is precluded from exercising any power or control in regard to any particular case with which a planning authority or the board is or may be concerned. The legislative process for the taking in charge of housing estates by local authorities is set out in section 180 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which applies to residential developments consisting of two or more dwellings that have been granted planning permission under section 34 of the Act.

There is no automatic requirement for local authorities to take over unfinished housing estates after a certain period. Under section 180(1) of the Act, the planning authority is obliged to initiate the taking in charge process where requested by either the developer or the majority of owners of the dwellings in the estate in question. However, this is subject to the development being completed to the satisfaction of the authority and in accordance with the permission and any conditions attached thereto.

Where developments have not been completed to the satisfaction of the planning authority, and where enforcement proceedings in this connection have not been commenced by the planning authority within four years of the expiry of the planning permission relating to a development, section 180 (2)(a) of the Act provides that the planning authority shall, where requested by the majority of owners of the houses involved, initiate the taking in charge procedures under section 11 of the Roads Act 1993, as amended. Where this particular approach is being progressed, the authority may apply the security or development bond provided as part of the planning application for the purposes of ensuring the satisfactory completion of the development. Where the calling in of the development bond is not possible or sufficient, section 180(2A) of the Act provides that the initiation of the taking in charge procedures under section 11 of the Roads Act shall not preclude the planning authority concerned from pursuing a developer for any costs incurred by the authority in respect of necessary works undertaken on a development to enable it to be taken in charge by that authority.

I am not familiar with the particular estate the Senator referenced and I am not certain how many of these measures apply to it. To conclude the taking in charge process where the development has been deemed to have been satisfactorily completed, a local authority is required to make a declaration under section 11 of the Roads Act following a proposal by the executive. The making of such a declaration, which effectively confirms that the authority is prepared to take over responsibility for the ongoing maintenance of the public works elements of the estate, is a reserved function of the elected members of a local authority. While there is no dedicated scheme in place for the taking in charge of housing estates, local authorities may make provision for taking in charge as part of their annual budgetary process.

The Senator might outline the process for the taking in charge in her follow-up question. Is the council looking to take the estate in charge? Was that based on a plebiscite of the majority of house owners in the estate? Was it based on the council taking enforcement proceedings against the developer? Was there a development bond in place at the time and, if so, was it pursued?

I thank the Minister of State. I understand he is taking the Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for housing and it is not his remit, but none of that response answers any part of the question I asked. The developer went into liquidation so the council had to step in. That was it. It is cut and dried. Clearly, the officials are currently in no man's land. Reaming off these Acts and so on does not make a difference to the people in Tanyard Wood. In reality, it does not. Neither the Minister of State nor I would want to live on an estate where no one is responsible for anything. It is just not feasible. What happened is that the developer went into liquidation so someone had to step in and Cork County Council did, but it is taking a long time and the funding is one of the core issues officials have. The Minister of State said: "While there is no dedicated scheme in place for the taking in charge of housing estates, local authorities may make provision for taking in charge as part of their annual budgetary process." Maybe there should be a scheme and perhaps the housing Minister could look at that because clearly Tanyard Wood is not an isolated case. There are other estates with the same issue.

I thank the Senator again for raising this matter, which, as I said earlier, I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The decision to take any estate or estates in charge is ultimately one for the elected members of the local authority who, by way of a declaration made under the Roads Act, will make such a decision. In addition, financial decision-making and the accountability of local authorities is a matter for the elected members of a local authority who have direct responsibility in law for all reserved functions of the authority, which include the adoption of the annual budget of the local authority. In this regard, section 103 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, provides for the local authority budgetary process. It is a matter for each local authority to determine its spending priorities in the context of an annual budgetary process having regard to locally identified needs and the funding resources available to it. This includes the taking in charge of housing estates. I note the points the Senator raised.