Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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91. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if there are any further plans to amend existing regulations exempting certain types of vacant commercial premises from planning permission in order to maximise the number of vacant units being brought back into use; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11866/23]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will provide an update on the notifications received by local authorities under planning permission exemptions for converting certain vacant commercial properties into homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11596/23]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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One hundred years ago, many people lived above commercial premises in the centre of Drogheda. Today, very few people live there. What further and additional regulations can he amend- obviously, I exclude those relating to health and safety - in order to encourage more people to live in the centre of our towns and over commercial premises nationally.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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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.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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I congratulate the Minister of State on his recent appointment. I have not sat here in the Chamber with him for a number of years, and he and I both know how we feel and think about things.

I recently met the owners of property in the centre of Drogheda. They are local people who own substantial levels of property. They were aware of the exemptions but they felt they did not have enough knowledge, which is why I met them to further their proposals. There were concerns, appropriately and properly, about fire safety and so on, and I reiterate what I said about how there can be no issue of compromise with regard to health and safety. We need a proactive team, whether that is regionally or nationally based, to advise property owners as to what the exemptions are and how they could plan and design the properties. They are worried about the cost of consultancies and so on, and it might be necessary to grant aid to people to meet certain additional costs such as fire safety precautions or whatever they are.

These people would like to go ahead and have those premises occupied. They provide a service in the centre of town. One hundred years ago, as we all know, all our towns were filled with families and they were lively places at night and during the day, whereas now they are empty and dead. I appreciate the Minister of State's question. Will he consider setting up a unit in the Department, perhaps through chambers of commerce and so on, to get a plan together and provide the professional advice that is essential to these people to encourage them further?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. Vacant home officers are now in situin every local authority, including that in Louth. Their role is to go out proactively and bring vacant units back into use. Traditionally, people would have rung the planning officer, but that takes some time. We will look to see whether we can expand the role of the vacant home officers to incorporate the planning aspect. Clearly, the local authority, in any area, is the fountain of knowledge in that area. We want the local authorities to be proactive. We will take this up with the Department. We have put in resources to provide additional vacant homes officers, and there are also town centre officers as well as people dealing with derelict sites. We are determining whether we can put units in place in each local authority to provide that people will be able to pick up the phone and ask whether they are exempt.

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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These properties are vacant today. I hear what the Minister of State is saying but we need a driver.

I am not condemning the current vacant homes officers, but most of them were doing other jobs previously. That is the reality. They were not doing anything in this area.

I accept and acknowledge what the Minister of State said about housing, particularly in the context of his recent visit to Drogheda. The Minister, along with the local authority, has put in place the capacity to build 5,000 more homes in the town. This means that there will be an increase of 20,000 in the number of people living in Drogheda over the next ten years. At that point, it will be a city. It is wrong, as other people who are not here do, state that there is lack of progress. There has been significant progress, but more needs to be done.

Louth County Council has informed one of my constituents that it has been told that it cannot enter into any more long-term leases for houses. Some guy offered a property to the local authority on a long-term lease and it told him that the Department has been refusing any new requests since last year. If I could get an answer in respect of that matter, I would be grateful.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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On the first point, there are now vacant home officers. The salary was increased specifically for that purpose. We can build around them on the issues on the planning side as well.

In recent days, the Government sanctioned the provision of an additional 1,000 homes for lease. That message is going out loud and clear to local authorities. That is now Government policy and it should be reflect in Louth.