Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I move amendment No. 4:

In page 27, to delete lines 32 and 33 and substitute the following: “ “city” means—

(a) the administrative area of a city council (within the meaning of the Act of 2001), or

(b) a municipal district that includes an area that, by virtue of subsection (6) of section 10 of the Local Government Act 2001, may continue to be described as a city;”.

Government amendments Nos. 4, 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 24, 27, 32 to 34, inclusive, 122, 583 to 585, inclusive, 918, 928, 957, 958, 1003 and 1027 all relate to definitions used throughout the Bill. Amendments Nos. 4, 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 24, 27 and 32 to 34, inclusive, seek to amend section 2 of the Bill, which provides definitions for terms used throughout the Bill. Specifically, amendments Nos. 15, 24, 27 and 34 propose to insert a number of necessary definitions for the purpose of the Bill, such as a definition of an "integrated pollution control licence", an "industrial emissions licence", a "reserved function", "shares", and a "waste water discharge licence".

Amendment No. 4 amends the definition of "city" to mirror the definition in the Planning and Development Act 2000 to allow for the continued use of the description "city" in relation to Kilkenny, Limerick and Waterford, while amendment No. 11 clarifies that maritime development, in addition to taking place “in” the maritime area, may also take place “on, over or under” the maritime area. This is consistent with the definition of "development" generally.

Amendments Nos. 19 and 20 amend the definition of "occupier" to clarify that an occupier in the maritime area includes a person who is a holder of a lease under section 2 of the Foreshore Act 1933.

Amendment No. 32 makes minor amendments to the language of the definition of "unauthorised development". The Bill has required continuous work to ensure it is fully optimised and this amendment has identified that the syntax could be improved without changing the intent of the provision as published.

Amendment No. 33 deletes the current text of the definitions of "unauthorised structure" and "unauthorised use" and adds new paragraphs (c), (d) and (e) to each of the definitions of "unauthorised structure", "unauthorised use" and "unauthorised works" for the purpose of ensuring that the definition of "unauthorised development" is consistent with the requirement to apply for permission for development in section 80(1). The new paragraphs outline types of development which should not be deemed unauthorised for the purpose of the Bill, including Chapter 6 State authority development which is exempted development, development required by either a notice or order relating to works which must be carried out in a special planning control area, an enforcement notice or a planning injunction, as well as development which is subject to a licence under section 12. These types of development are already set out in section 80(1) as development which does not require planning permission under Part 4 so this amendment is ensuring consistency throughout the Bill.Amendment No. 34 is a consequential amendment that deletes the current text of "unauthorised works".

Amendment No. 122 amends section 15 of the Bill to insert a definition of "functional area" for the purpose of Part 3 of the Bill. This definition clarifies that for the purpose of Part 3 of the Bill relating to the making of development plans and so on, the functional area of a coastal planning authority is limited to the administrative area of the planning authority up to the high water mark. The Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 provides that forward planning in the maritime area will be carried out under Part 2 of that Act, which deals with maritime spatial plans, so this amendment merely clarifies that development plans should only extend as far as the high water mark. Amendment No. 12 is a consequential amendment to amendment No. 122.

Amendments Nos. 583 to 585, inclusive, update the definition of "proposed development" in section 79 which applies throughout Part 4.

They remove the current references to State authority emergency development as this is exempted development for the purpose of the Bill. Amendment No. 918 deletes a duplicated definition.

Amendments Nos. 928, 957 and 958 are a minor reorder or edit of existing text for clarity and consistency.

Amendment No. 1003 adds a definition of draft special planning control scheme to Chapter 2 of Part 10.

Amendment No. 1027 updates the definition of "application" for the purpose of Part 12 to remove the current reference to section 208 which is an application for EIA screening. Part 12 sets out general provisions for applications throughout the Bill. However, the EIA procedures are already detailed in Part 6 so there is no need for this reference here and retaining it could lead to conflicts in procedures and uncertainty. All of the amendments I have just referenced are necessary to bring further clarity to the Bill.