George Lawlor criticises Iska Eirin delays on unfinished estates
George Lawlor raised concerns about delays in taking unfinished estates in charge and problems accessing new water connections, criticising Iska Eirin's reluctance and asking the Minister to intervene. He said county councils are willing to take estates in charge but are blocked because some developers and companies involved are deceased or no longer exist.
Unfinished estates and taking in charge
County councils have indicated they are anxious to take estates in charge, but Iska Eirin and Irish waters have been reluctant to facilitate that process. Lawlor highlighted that some developers have passed away and some companies are gone, leaving estates in limbo and no clear point of contact.
New connections and developer costs
Developers seeking to build new homes face significant barriers in accessing the network and infrastructure. One developer was told to invest 1.4 million to upgrade Iska Eirin facilities or wait three years before building 180 houses; another invested 1.3 million to unblock provision for 500 houses. Lawlor said those costs were ultimately borne by the new homeowners.
Impact on civil engineering firms and the pipeline
Major Irish civil engineering companies are reportedly working in the UK building water infrastructure because there is little pipeline of work at home. Lawlor cited this as a sign of broader problems in infrastructure planning and delivery.
Request to the Minister
Lawlor asked the Minister to investigate both the unfinished estates issue and the new connections problem to ensure estates can be taken in charge and that developers can access necessary infrastructure without unfair delays.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Thank you, Minister. The issue of unfinished estates is something you will be familiar with. It's taking an inordinate amount of time for estates to be taken in charge, particularly some of the older ones, where I appreciate there will be some difficulties. And mostly the hold-up is down to Iska Eirin. County councils unusually have come to the table on this and have said that they are anxious to take estates in charge. Yet Irish waters seem very, very reluctant to allow that to happen. They want to engage with developers and companies. But some of the developers have sadly passed away. Some of the companies who were involved in the development of these estates are gone. So who are we waiting for? Who are we going to get the call? Who are we going to be able to call? We can't call the developers that have passed away or gone, or companies that are gone. And still, Iska Eirin won't agree to facilitate the taking in charge of those estates. In the whole area of new connections, I've spoken to a number of developers who, when they look to develop new homes, and I know that's a key tenant of your campaign in relation to the housing issue, when they go to develop new homes, they often hit brick walls when it comes to accessing the network or accessing infrastructure. I spoke to one developer who had to invest 1.4 million to upgrade Iska Eirin facilities, or else wait three years before he could build 180 houses. Another developer had to invest 1.3 million, or else Iska Eirin wouldn't, as they wouldn't intervene. And there were 500 houses involved there. Luckily, these developers went ahead and invested the money, but unfortunately, it was the new homeowners who had to foot the bill. This is happening across the country, county after county. And all the Irish big civil engineering companies have also reported that they're actually in the UK operating and building the water infrastructure there because there's no, for want of a better word, pipeline of work here for them to be dependent on. So, Minister, I'd ask you to look at those two issues, unfinished estates and the new connections issue. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
