Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

For argument's sake, in the real world, if a national planning statement is brought in, there could be a big issue with regard to urban design standards. It may be discovered that there is better practice out there and the Government may decide that this needs to be looked at. The planning policy would evolve during that process. That could happen at any time. A development plan exists in order that a local authority will in line with the provisions of that development plan. Where a national planning policy statement is issued, however, there is a process whereby the local authorities will come back within two months and say what is consistent. Deputy O'Callaghan is asking me about what would happen in what would not even be an interregnum. The latter is because the existing plan would still be in force. If an application were lodged in that two-months period,, those involve would still be operating on the basis of what is in place. We have always debated in the Dáil about whether decisions can be retrospective, etc. If someone submits an application and it is being assessed on a given day and a planning statement does not exist on that day, it is assessed at that time. There is a process set out here.

The only way to do exactly what the Deputy is saying would be if we were to say that all national planning policy statements must be done on the same day two months in advance of when all the development plans are put together. That is not the way it operates. This provides the process. If one goes back to section 24(1)(n), because we are straying into other, albeit related, areas it is simply part of that checklist, for want of a better phrase, that regard must also be had to there being consistency in the assessment of the application because there has to be consistency with the development plan.

The development plan must be materially consistent with the national planning framework and the national planning statements.