Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

While I absolutely understand the point Deputy Ó Broin makes as to why he has tabled amendment No. 11, the difficulty with it is that in the action plan launched last summer, a commitment was given to people for whom permission would expire between the intention as stated in the action plan and the actual enactment of the legislation and the commencement of the order. They would be captured by that. Therefore, certain developers had to down tools because the law was not yet in place and the order was not commenced. This Bill is to allow us to meet the commitment that was made when the action plan was published last year, so there is retrospection but only to the point of the publication of the plan last year because that commitment was given that they would be covered in this. This is why I cannot accept amendment No. 11. It would go back on that commitment given at the time the action plan was published.

Regarding the other point Deputy Ó Broin made about housing estates and ghost estates that were not completed but might have been deconstructed, I cannot speak to the individual estates as to why this may have happened. It could be for a number of reasons. The permission might have lapsed and no initial extension sought. What we are talking about here are developments in respect of which - the Deputy is right - substantial works have been carried out and the developers need this additional time to finish those works.

To speak to Deputy Murphy's point, the local authority is best placed to know exactly how much time is needed in such cases. It should be noted as well that the planning (amendment) Bill 2016 will be completed in September or October, as per our priorities in the Department. There are new provisions being introduced there to give greater flexibility to local authorities not to have to grant, as per the current position in an initial planning application, an automatic five years and to give them more powers to make judgment calls for periods of less than five years for the initial decision, whatever about extensions.

We should give local authorities greater discretion and more power, because they are closer to what is actually happening in those areas.

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