Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with amendments Nos. 222 to 227, inclusive, which relate to a transitional provision - section 25 - which provides for the continuation in force of pre-commencement ministerial guidelines. The purpose of section 25 is to ensure that guidelines issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 will continue in force following the repeal of that Act. The Minister of the day will be empowered to revoke guidelines if considered necessary, but as guidelines issued under the current legislation will be replaced by national planning policy guidance under the Bill, any guidelines that continue to have effect following the repeal of the current legislation will only do so up to the time that a national planning statement issues. This transitional provision will ensure a smooth changeover from the current legislation and the corresponding guidelines currently in effect to the new legislation and the corresponding national planning guidance.

Having reviewed the proposed amendments, I am unfortunately not in a position to accept any of them for the following reasons. Amendments No. 222 and 226 refer to specific guidelines issued under section 28(1C) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. No such guidelines exist. All guidelines under section 28 are issued under subsection (1). I assume the Deputy is referring to the SPPRs.

Amendment No. 223 seeks to remove the transitional provision entirely. This would mean that, once the current legislation was repealed, no guidance would exist up until the time a national planning statement was issued.

Amendment No. 224 deletes the text “continue in force” from section 25(1). This text provides for the continuation of the guidelines in question and so cannot be deleted.

Amendment No. 225 removes an important part of the transitional provision that deems the current guidelines will be considered national planning policy guidance for an interim period before a national planning statement is issued.

Finally, amendment No. 227 refers to the concept of “revised implementation guidelines”. These are not a feature of the current legislation or the Bill. The smooth transition from the Planning and Development Act 2000 to the new planning Act is of central importance to the maintenance of the planning system. This transition will happen over a period of time and there needs to be clarity from an administrative, public policy and legislative basis in moving to the new legislative arrangements.

Guidelines, including those with specific planning policy requirements, SPPRs, are an important feature of the current legislative system. The Bill moves from this arrangement to national planning policy statements. There are over 30 section 28 guidelines, although not all with SPPRs. I think the officials have undertaken to provide specific details. The replacement of these guidelines with planning policy statements will take a period of time.

It is not appropriate that current planning policy, which has been carefully considered and forms an element in the consideration of applications and indeed statutory plans, should be arbitrarily removed without a consideration of what will replace it from a practical planning policy point of view. The Bill at present takes a pragmatic, reasonable and practical approach to allow for a clear and smooth transition. In view of this I cannot accept the proposed amendments.

Within many of the section 28 guidelines there are SPPRs on specific issues which have mandatory requirements. There will be a period of transition. If a national planning statement comes into being, it replaces the section 28 guideline and also replaces the SPPR within that section 28 guideline. The SPPR is attached to the section 28 guideline; they are not stand-alone. They deal with a specific element. Effectively, the national planning statement will take over from the section 28 guideline and whatever SPPR is incorporated within that section 28 guideline. Over time, section 28 guidelines will be replaced by the national planning statements. It is important to have a transitional base in place, which is the current status quowith section 28 guidelines having the SPPRs embedded within them. I am not certain if every section 28 guideline has an SPPR in it, but many of them do. They are mandatory and must be followed.

In amendment No, 222, would it be fair to say that Deputy Ó Broin is decoupling the SPPR from the section 28 guideline, when, in fact, the way they are structured is that they run together?