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

I propose to take Questions No. 91 and 143 together.

Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated regulations, requires planning permission. Exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of specific forms of development are provided for when they are considered to be consistent with proper planning and sustainable development. The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 provided for an exemption, until the end of 2021, from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of the change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant or underutilised areas over ground-floor shops and offices, to residential use. This measure was aimed at facilitating the productive reuse of qualifying vacant commercial buildings as homes while also facilitating urban renewal and the bringing on stream of increased housing supply.

Under Housing for All, the 2018 regulations were subsequently extended to the end of 2025 by way of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) Regulations 2022. These regulations included a new class of premises eligible to avail of the planning exemption, namely, public houses capable of providing up to a maximum of nine residential units. The inclusion of this new exemption class is designed to ease the burden of converting public houses that are no longer viable and have ceased to operate, of which there are many in our cities, towns and villages, to residential accommodation.

Since the planning exemptions for the conversion of vacant commercial premises were first introduced in 2018, local authorities have received a total of 898 notifications relating to the provision of 2,066 additional homes. In 2022, further to the extension of the measure to include vacant public houses, local authorities received specific notifications in respect of the conversion of 53 public houses, with a view to providing a total of 169 homes from these conversions.

These planning exemptions are among a package of measures outlined in the vacant homes action plan, including the vacant property refurbishment grant, aimed at bringing vacant and derelict properties back into use. A table containing the information requested regarding the change-of-use notifications received, as per the most recent returns from local authorities, relating to the years 2018 to 2022, will be circulated. While I have no plans to introduce any further planning exemptions in this area at this point, I propose to keep further measures in this area under review. I would like to hear the Deputy's views on whether there are specific areas where there is scope for giving flexibility around planning.

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