Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chair for affording me the opportunity to contribute on this Private Members' Bill on behalf of the Government. It is important to reiterate that the Government recognises the importance of having an open and transparent planning system. The inclusion of prescribed bodies in the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, is a key part of the planning process and provides planning authorities the opportunity to request submissions from such bodies on particular issues, for example, our national heritage, which has been a prescribed matter for An Taisce since 1964. The Planning and Development (An Taisce) Bill 2024 proposes to amend the planning and development regulations by way of primary legislation. This is not the appropriate mechanism to amend any regulations. Furthermore, An Taisce plays an important role in our planning system. Therefore, while the Bill may be well intentioned, the Government must oppose it.

To provide some background, An Taisce has been a prescribed body since 1964 after the enactment of the 1963 planning Act. The Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963, (Permission) Regulations, 1964 included An Taisce as a prescribed body under Article 12 of those regulations in respect of areas of special amenity or of areas and structures that may be of archaeological, geological, historical or architectural interest. This was maintained in the 2001 regulations. There are other important bodies that have also been prescribed bodies since 1964, including Bord Fáilte and the Arts Council.

First, I will set out the reasons we cannot support this Bill. Its aim is to amend the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. The power to make regulations under the 2000 Act is provided to the Minister with responsibility for planning. For example, section 33(2)(f) of the 2000 Act provides the regulation-making power to list prescribed bodies in respect of planning applications. Therefore, the use of primary legislation to amend secondary legislation such as the 2001 regulations cannot be supported.

Second, the Bill proposes to remove a prescribed body that has been included within planning legislation for 60 years. I do not consider it appropriate to remove any body that is still in existence from the prescribed bodies lists contained within the 2001 regulations. The removal of An Taisce would be a retrograde step and cannot be supported.

An Taisce and the other bodies prescribed under planning regulations play an important role in supporting planning authorities in their decision-making processes. Planning authorities are required to make decisions on a range of planning matters, including applications for planning permission. Where an application may have an effect on an area of particular importance, including built or natural heritage, the planning authority shall notify the relevant prescribed bodies. This provides an opportunity for the relevant body to make a submission regarding the specific application and has been a part of the planning system for 60 years. It is for each individual prescribed body to decide whether to make a submission to the planning authority. If a submission is lodged, this will help to inform the planning authority's decision-making process, as the authority shall have regard to any submissions lodged when making its final decision.

It is important to note that Ireland has an open planning system. Any person or body may make a submission to a planning authority within the prescribed period. For example, Article 29 of the 2001 regulations provides a period of five weeks for public participation where a planning authority receives a planning application under section 34 of the 2000 Act. Any person or body who engages with the planning system by making a submission on a planning application to a planning authority may, if unhappy with the decision of the planning authority, lodge an appeal to An Bord Pleanála in accordance with section 37 of the Act. Following an appeal, any person who was a party to the appeal or made a submission on the appeal may seek an application for leave for judicial review of the decision of An Bord Pleanála within eight weeks of such a decision. The power to make submissions, lodge appeals and apply for judicial review is open to any member of the public engaging with the planning process and is not a privilege solely restricted to prescribed bodies.

Third, as the Deputies are aware, the Planning and Development Bill 2023 is before the Houses of the Oireachtas and its final Stage will be debated in the Dáil this evening. The Bill seeks to ensure that our planning system functions to support and regulate the development of land and infrastructure, enhance assets and amenities, and preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment; integrate the pursuit of the national climate objective with the plan-led development of the State; ensure that there is transparent and timely decision-making within the framework of policy, strategies, plans and consents; facilitate consistency and quality in decision-making that is proportionate and sound; and, in the making of statutory plans and consent decisions, decision-makers have due regard to the appropriate balance between the social, economic and environmental considerations in the interests of proper planning and sustainable development and the common good.

In particular, the Bill aims to ensure that transparency and timely decisions will enhance the quality of decision-making that is proportionate and sound, while, importantly, encouraging public participation in the plan-making and decision-making process. This includes the introduction of mandatory timelines for decision-making, which will increase confidence and consistency among the parties in the planning system as a whole and will provide clarity and certainty as to when decisions are made. It also maintains the power of the Minister to prescribe bodies for planning purposes.

Alongside the work that my Department has undertaken over the past three years in the Planning and Development Bill, it is also reviewing the planning and development regulations of 2001, which the Deputy is seeking to amend. These will be replaced by new regulations as the Act is commenced and the provisions in the 2000 Act and associated regulations are repealed. These new regulations shall retain the role of prescribed bodies under the planning system. Once the Planning and Development Bill is enacted, it will be commenced on a phased basis to allow for a smooth operational transition of the updated legislation across the planning system and the 2000 Act and the 2001 regulations will be repealed as the corresponding sections of the new Act are commenced. Therefore, with the knowledge that the Planning and Development (An Taisce) Bill 2024 proposes to amend legislation that will be repealed in the near future, it cannot be supported. Accordingly, the Government is opposed to the Planning and Development (An Taisce) Bill 2024 and the proposal to use primary legislation to amend regulations to remove An Taisce as a prescribed body for the processes under the 2000 Act and the 2001 regulations. That legislation will be repealed in the coming months following the enactment of the new planning Bill.

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