Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

This amendment will modify section 41 of the 2000 Act. Section 41 provides that a planning authority or the board can specify a period longer than five years during which a grant of permission will be valid. The amendment will expand that power to cover the grants of permission by the board for strategic infrastructure proposals under the new consent process set out in the Bill. The amendment to paragraph (b) is necessary to clarify the powers of the board. The current wording refers only to the planning authority at one point, whereas it should refer to the planning authority and the board. While it is necessitated by the amendment to paragraph (a), it also corrects an error in the current wording of the section. I commend the amendment to the House and hope it will be accepted.