Ms Orla Hegarty:

Unintended consequences were mentioned earlier. The exempted development provisions discussed last week would be an automatic entitlement to an owner to just go ahead and do the work. There is a safeguard in this Bill for that type of work whereby one does not have an automatic exempted development. The planning authority has to say that one fits the criteria for this. It gives the local authority its own control, without anybody automatically getting into this system, to say there is not adequate parking in the area, there is no amenity, or whatever else. It is a much more effective tool for the planning authorities than the blanket exempted development provision which was brought in which did not have an upper limit on the size of the building.

It is a much more effective tool for planning authorities than the blanket exempted development provision which was brought forward but which did not include an upper limit for the size of a building.