Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 July 2021

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages

 

9:17 pm

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

I will do my best to address some of the points raised, specifically those relating to the grouping of amendments tabled. A briefing with officials was held for members of the Oireachtas joint committee. That needs to be recognised. I also note that the committee agreed to waive pre-legislative scrutiny. I thank it for that as the matters we are dealing with here are urgent. Other matters have been raised with regard to the Aarhus Convention and legal advice. I assure Deputies that, as those who attended the briefings will be aware, the Attorney General was personally involved in the drafting of this legislation. There are other matters to which we will return in the autumn.

Before I get to the grouping of amendments, one of the specific points raised by a number of Deputies related to the extension of permissions and projects being substantially complete. Most would agree that, for a planning permission to be extended, the project would have to be substantially complete. That is a definition that is well understood by our planning authorities. We cannot just keep extending paper permissions in respect of which works have not started. Permissions may have been in place for five years before being extended for another five years and now we are talking about another two. The purpose of this is to ensure that planning permission can be extended for developments, particularly residential developments, that are substantially complete. It is not a blanket extension. It must be applied for. The discretion of each planning authority applies in any decision as to the granting of an extension to a planning permission. It is for the planning authorities to decide whether the works carried out in association with a planning permission can be defined as substantially complete. It is right to allow that discretion and for the power to make decisions to be left with those who are charged with responsibility for granting or refusing planning permissions.

With regard to development plans, I note the amendments tabled by Deputies Cian O'Callaghan and Ó Broin. They want to place a further check on the extension of planning permissions. I know the Deputies respect local government and elected representatives all over the country in our city and county councils, as do all Deputies here, I am sure. It is those representatives who have the reserved function to complete development plans. It is their reserved function. It is wholly appropriate for a simple majority of members to decide whether to extend a county or city development plan. I altered that provision on the basis of submissions and contributions made on previous stages of the Bill, particularly Second Stage here and in the Seanad. That is why we have reduced the number required for a local authority to extend a development plan to a simple majority. I will not be accepting amendments Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, or 7 which would put a further burden on the decision-making by lifting the bar to 75%. That is not required. We should trust our local authority members who are elected by the people in their local electoral areas. They are the ones who have that reserved function. The provisions in this regard are appropriate. We want to make sure that developments that are substantially complete and which require an extension to their planning permission because of Covid will be able to get such an extension. Applications for such extensions may be made to the planning authorities.

Of all 31 local authority areas in the country, 27 could avail of an extension if they wished to. Some may decide not to. The Department has had contact from a number of local authorities. This issue came up on Second Stage. This will give them the ability to make that decision themselves. I am not telling them to do so, nor is Government.

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