James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

The amendment seeks to amend section 13, which amends section 180 of the Act of 2024. In relation to the suspension of the duration of permission while a judicial review is ongoing, the current provisions provide that where a person is seeking a suspension of duration in respect of a concluded judicial review, they must submit a declaration that the development did not substantially commence before the conclusion of these proceedings. The amendment proposed by the Deputy seeks to provide that, in addition to that obligation, a contractor must publish an annual profit and loss account, an auditor’s report and a balance sheet to qualify to provide dwellings for the purchase of which funds may be made available by the special purpose vehicle.

Section 180 deals exclusively with suspending the duration of a permission and puts obligations on a person seeking a suspension. As the section does not contain provisions relating to funding, and there is no other reference to or mention of a special purpose vehicle within the Act of 2024, I cannot accept the amendment. It would not be appropriate to seek account information as part of a request to suspend the duration of a permission. A test for whether a suspension of a duration is appropriate is already set out in legislation, as follows: was the development subject to a judicial review? Is the permission still active, that is, not expired? Were works carried out while the judicial review was ongoing? I am satisfied that these criteria are entirely appropriate and, therefore, for these reasons, I cannot accept the amendment.

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