Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have a brief which I will refer to as it might bring clarity for the Deputy. Retrospective consent is defined in the Bill to mean retention permission for a development or part of a development in respect of which an appropriate assessment or environment impact assessment is required. Retrospective consent is a way of regularising an unauthorised development where an EIA or AA of the development is required.

Retrospective consent replaces substitute consent in the Act of 2000. There are additional procedures for making an application for respective consent under Part 4 of the Bill. Applications for retrospective consent are made as direct applications to the commission. Any environmental impact assessment report and-or any Natura impact statement shall be submitted with an application for retrospective consent in respect of the entire development, including any part of the development that has not yet been undertaken. Applications for retrospective consent must satisfy the exceptional circumstances before the granting of permission.

Exceptional circumstances include whether granting retrospective consent would circumvent the objectives of the environmental impact assessment directive or the habitats directive; whether the applicant had or could have had a reasonable belief that the development carried out was unauthorised; whether the ability to carry out environmental impact was substantially impaired; the significant effects on the environment or adverse effects on a European site of the continuation of the development; the extent to which significant effects or adverse effects can be remediated; and the applicant’s history of compliance with planning control.

The public are entitled to make submissions to the commission on the application, including submissions as to the existence or absence of exceptional circumstances justifying a grant of retrospective consent. The commission must consider any significant effects on the environment or on a European site which have occurred, or which are occurring, or could reasonably be expected to occur, as a result of the development. The commission, when granting retrospective consent, may attach conditions requiring the taking of measures to remedy any significant adverse effects on the environment of the development.