Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Upton for raising this issue. I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley.

Under planning legislation, any development which requires permission and does not have that permission is an unauthorised development, as is a development which is proceeding in breach of conditions laid down in the planning permission. Enforcement of planning control is the responsibility of the planning authority.

Planning enforcement provisions were greatly strengthened in the Planning and Development Act 2000. The Act imposes several statutory obligations on planning authorities. The authority must issue a warning letter in respect of any genuine complaint it receives regarding unauthorised development or any unauthorised development of which it otherwise becomes aware. The authority must then carry out an investigation into the alleged unauthorised development. Following this investigation, the authority must make a decision, as expeditiously as possible, on whether to issue an enforcement notice. My Department's development management guidelines, published last year under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, recommend that enforcement notices should issue in all cases where an investigation has established that unauthorised development is being or has been carried out, unless there are compelling and defensible reasons for not doing so.

Following its decision on whether or not to issue an enforcement notice, the planning authority must inform any complainant regarding the decision and must enter the decision, including the reasons for it, in the planning register. My Department's development management guidelines urge that prosecutions should follow in the case of all enforcement notices not complied with. The maximum fines for unauthorised development were greatly increased in the 2000 Act, with the maximum penalty on conviction on indictment now €12.7 million and two years' imprisonment. In the case of a summary conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine not exceeding €1,905, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both.

In regard to the case to which the Deputy referred, I am informed by the planning authority that a warning letter was issued, an investigation carried out, an enforcement notice subsequently issued and a prosecution taken in the District Court against the company in question. The latter subsequently pleaded guilty to an offence and the court imposed a fine of €1,000. It is a matter for the planning authority to decide whether to bring proceedings in the District Court or High Court in any particular case and I have no role in the matter.

Enforcement powers were further strengthened in the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 which allows planning authorities to refuse to grant planning permission, without recourse to the High Court, to any developer who has substantially failed to comply with a previous planning permission. If the applicant wishes to have this decision overturned, he or she must apply to the High Court.

The above provisions set out a strong legal framework for planning authorities to take enforcement action where necessary. While there are no specific proposals for review, the Minister continues to keep the legislation under scrutiny with a view to its operational effectiveness.

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