Committee Reports > List of Committees > Joint > 1980 > Committee on Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies > Report No. 12 - National Building Agency, Limited

APPENDIX 9

LETTER TO CLERK TO JOINT COMMITTEE FROM DUBLIN CORPORATION

I am directed by the City Manager to refer to your letter dated 14th November seeking the views of the Corporation in relation to the National Building Agency Ltd.

(a) Since their involvement in the construction of the Ballymun Housing complex in 1965 the Agency has been engaged in constructing housing schemes for the Corporation. The Agency’s output on behalf of the Corporation varies from year to year but generally has represented an important supplement to the Corporation’s housing programme. The following figures show the number of dwellings completed by the Agency as a percentage of the total number of Corporation dwellings provided.

For a number of years the Corporation has experienced difficulty in recruiting and keeping technical and professional staff. In such circumstances the package deal operated by the Agency is of major benefit to the Corporation.

(b) The Agency provides dwellings on behalf of the Corporation both in the area of Dublin County Council—where approximately three quarters of Corporation dwellings are at present being provided—and also in the City area. In the case of City Developments no formal planning permission is required. However the Agency consult with the Corporation Planning Department and other Corporation Departments prior to the commencement of housing design. The accommodation brief relating to the sizes of dwellings to be built is provided by the Corporation. In the case of development in the County Area the normal procedure is for the Agency to operate from an area action plan which is provided by the County Council Planning Department. This plan indicates the residential areas, the roads pattern, access points and the density allowable. Planning and Bye-Law Approval must be obtained for all Corporation development in the County Area. The Agency has a satisfactory working arrangement with the Planning Departments and the degree of consultation is considered adequate.

(c) The consultation between the Agency and the Corporation at this stage is also considered adequate. The projected construction programme and the budget involved are agreed at the commencement of each year. In the case of each scheme, the layout of dwellings, the house designs, landscaping etc. are submitted to the Corporation’s Housing Committee for approval. The appropriate Officers of the Agency attend the meetings and by means of plans, slides, etc. explain the proposals to the Committee and answer any queries. Apart from these arrangements the house designs must accord with those approved by the Department of the Environment.

(d) The Corporation does not carry out any direct supervision of schemes being constructed by the Agency except in exceptional cases. Schemes are taken over on the certificate of completion submitted by the Agency. All supervision is provided by the Agency. There have been some instances of unsatisfactory work which might be attributed to inadequate supervision. These are referred to in more detail at (e) below.

(e) Generally speaking the Corporation has been satisfied with the adequacy of houses completed by the Agency. The volume of faults reported by tenants during the maintenance period does not compare unfavourably with other schemes constructed by the Corporation. Sometimes the time taken to remedy faults is longer than one would wish. This is due to the reluctance of the Agency’s contractor to deal with faults individually. It is more economical for a builder to allow faults to accumulate over a period and then to remedy same in one operation. Faults are normally reported by tenants to the Corporation and are transmitted to the Agency for attention. On the question of faults the Corporation’s worst experience relates to defective roofs in a scheme of 346 houses which the Agency constructed at Finglas South Section 2. Following roof movements which necessitated shoring up of 7 blocks of houses, detailed examination revealed roof defects to varying degrees in all the houses in the scheme. It was generally agreed that the basic cause was bad workmanship in the erection of the roof trusses. The examination also revealed a problem with the support arrangements for the water tanks in all houses. Agreed remedial works have been carried out over the past six months and are now virtually completed. The work was carried out by the Agency’s contractor at no cost to the Corporation other than the problem of dissatisfaction and inconvenience to the tenants. I might mention that in another section of Finglas South a problem has arisen in recent weeks regarding rear garden walls, some of which collapsed and many others of which have had to be demolished in the interest of tenants safety. The examination in this case has not yet been finalised.

In summary it may be taken that apart from the exceptions referred to above the operations of the Agency on the Corporation’s behalf have been satisfactory and have made an important contribution to the Corporation’s housing programme. The Corporation’s satisfaction is reflected in the recent allocation by the Corporation of three major housing sites to the Agency which will ensure the continuous engagement of the Agency for some years to come.

31 December 1979