Ms Deirdre Fallon:

We thank the committee for the invitation to discuss the review of building regulations, building controls and consumer protection.

Although they are often considered and criticised together, it is important to restate that the planning and building control systems are entirely separate. Legislation provides for different procedures in terms of the operation of the planning and building control systems. The planning system seeks to provide high-quality development in the right location and at the right time. The building regulation and control system should support this goal.

The future of our city, town and village centres and appropriate re-use of our vacant building stock are key aspects of building the sustainable communities of the future. In the opinion of the institute, the latter could make a significant contribution towards the provision of urgently-needed homes.

The planning system cannot be said to be the main constraint on supply of housing. There have been a number of changes to planning legislation to significantly reduce the costs of providing new homes such as changes in apartment standards guidelines, the reduction of the Part V contribution for social housing, reduced development contributions and a targeted development contribution schemes rebate. When it comes to the reuse of buildings, however, the institute is of the view that building standards are a more significant barrier than planning permissionper se, particularly where historic buildings are concerned. Previous Living Over the Shop incentives have been ineffective in the main as refurbishment costs and complying with building and fire regulations have been the main barriers.

We previously recommended to the committee that local authority rapid response teams for housing developments be established. These could be one-stop-shops for obtaining advice on all aspects of the statutory consent processes for new housing developments and proposals aimed at maximising the use of existing building stock. They could be project managed by a professional planner who has responsibility for co-ordinating housing applications within a planning authority from pre-planning through to application stage.

There are a number of practical and regulatory issues which need to be taken into account in developing the criteria for exempted development for a change of use of vacant commercial properties to residential use, as proposed under the Action Plan for Rural Development. These issues relate in particular to compliance with building regulations. For example, the change of use of the upper floors of a commercial building to residential use or the subdivision of the entirety of a commercial building to multiple residential units raise the issue of compliance with building regulations. Change of use to a single unit simplifies this process, but it does not negate the obligation on an individual to comply with regulations and to ensure the overall goal is the provision of high quality housing and homes for people who urgently require them.

In terms of consumer protection, one of the Irish Planning Institute’s objectives is to raise the standards of the planning profession and to facilitate public awareness of planning and the planning profession. Although the planning system requires planners to deliver an effective planning system, the term "planner" is used imprecisely. Ministerial guidelines issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act refer to the term "planner" and also refer to the need for reports to be prepared and assessed by "competent persons" and "competent authorities". We believe that greater clarity is required around the title to emphasise that professional planners are suitably qualified professionals with competency secured by meeting continuous professional development obligations and acting in accordance with ethical obligations. In keeping with the ethos of the planning tribunal report, this would increase public confidence in professional planners by making their knowledge and ethical obligations clear, although others could continue to provide planning services. We believe that this can be achieved by inserting a definition of "planner" in legislation and guidelines and by establishing a register of planners. We ask for the committee’s support in this regard. We believe that the definition of the profession of "planner" in legislation along with regulation of the profession would give a clear signal to the public that all aspects of the planning system are structured to protect and support the public interest and thus would assist in building confidence in the system.

Recommendations which relate to the construction stage of development and the planning system include allowing minor amendments to permitted development in certain circumstances, as long as they are not considered material amendments in the context of the overall development. We recommend that consideration be given to the introduction of a system for the provision of certificates of lawful use and-or development which could be issued on foot of an application. This will grant landowners and developers greater certainty in carrying out exempted development. Commencement notices should include a site layout map indicating the units being commenced. This would help overcome issues where more than one commencement notice is lodged over time for the same units or where a number of commencement notices are being applied for on the same site. It would also make clear the units being proposed to be built for monitoring purposes.

The agreement of compliance issues before commencement of development can be a very major issue for the delivery of developments that have planning permissions. Statutory provisions should be put in place requiring planning authorities to resolve compliance submissions within a specific timeframe and to give statutory effect to compliance approvals so that they can be relied on by applicants. There should be no difference in standards of residential amenity and quality of development and place-making between built-to-rent schemes and residential schemes targeted at other tenures. Statutory timeframes for the provision of pre-planning consultation meetings should be explored.

Guidance and information for property owners or potential developers on planning and its interaction with building regulations is limited. In this regard, we hope to work with the Department of Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government on revising and expanding its useful but out-of-date public information leaflet series. The consolidation of planning legislation is, in our view, the clearest way to avoid delay, confusion and frustration any user of the system may experience and we urge the committee to support our call for it. Addressing procedural and practical deficiencies in the existing planning code identified by practitioners as impeding the efficient delivery of housing should be prioritised.

The successful delivery of many of these recommendations will require a clear commitment to adequate resourcing of planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála. Adequate resourcing needs to be put in place in the first instance. The last survey of the planning profession carried out by the Irish Planning Institute found that the number of planners employed in local authorities decreased by almost one third from 2006 to 2014. A snapshot survey carried out by the institute earlier this year found that the numbers employed had only marginally increased. The figure was in the order of 8% in the authorities which participated. In order to meet the demands of a modern planning system, planning authorities must be properly resourced, including in terms of staffing and, particularly, in having an adequate complement of professional planners.

The institute is conscious of the need to avoid untimely delays in planning but any streamlining must have regard to the rights of the public to participate in decision-making, transparency and accountability in the development management process, and the need to safeguard proper planning and sustainable development. We have noted to the committee previously that there is a worrying trend for the piecemeal centralisation or nationalisation of the planning system, which is not set out in any Government policy. Moreover, a piecemeal approach to the removal of planning function from local authorities has the potential to utterly undermine certainty, efficiency and the efficacy of the planning system in Ireland. There is increasingly limited opportunity for flexibility from local authorities. We believe a suitable balance can be struck.

We thank the members for their time and the committee’s staff for their assistance. We are available to take questions or further comments.