Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Government amendments Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, were passed by the Dáil yesterday. They relate to sections 2 and 3 of the Bill and have been grouped together for discussion. These are primarily minor or technical in nature and I will address them in turn.

Section 2 of the Bill inserts a new provision in section 28 of the principal Act to indicate that guidelines issued by the Minister may now contain specific planning policy requirements that are to be applied by planning authorities. Amendment No. 1 provides further clarity on this point by inserting the phrase "notwithstanding subsection (1), are required”. This indicates a clearer distinction between matters in ministerial guidelines that planning authorities shall have regard to in subsection (1) and the specific planning policy requirements that they must now apply as set out in the new provision, subsection (1C).

With regard to amendments Nos. 2 and 3, section 3 of the Bill provides for a number of amendments to section 34(2) of the Act to support the new provisions relating to ministerial guidelines. Section 34(2) deals with factors that planning authorities must have regard to or consider when making a decision on planning applications. Amendment No. 2 removes the text “requirements of" from subparagraph (ia). This will mean that planning authorities must have regard to the guidelines generally, as they are primarily advisory in nature. Amendment No. 3 introduces a new subsection (2)(aa) to the Bill. This will mean that, when considering a planning application, planning authorities must apply the specific planning policy requirements of ministerial guidelines. Like amendment No. 1, this provides a clearer distinction between matters in ministerial guidelines that are advisory in nature and that planning authorities shall have regard to and matters that are mandatory in nature and that must be applied.

With regard to amendment No. 4, section 3(b) of the Bill amends section 34 of the Act to provide, for the avoidance of doubt, that where guidelines and the standards or provisions of a local development plan differ, the national planning policy as reflected in ministerial guidelines shall prevail and take precedence. Amendment No. 4 further clarifies that it is the specific planning policy requirements, or mandatory requirements of guidelines, as referred to in new subsection (2)(aa), that will prevail over local development plans as opposed to the advisory nature of guidelines.

Amendment No. 5 inserts a necessary definition in the Bill for specific planning policy requirement. In addition, section 3(c) of the Bill introduces a new provision aimed at streamlining the assessment of applications seeking modifications to existing planning permissions in respect of multi-unit housing developments, primarily apartment block and duplex-type developments, on foot of the issuing of new or revised apartment standard guidelines by the Minister.

Amendment No. 6 clarifies that this provision for a new section 3(c) applies to applications seeking modifications to those existing planning permissions to take account of the "specific planning policy requirements” - that is, the mandatory requirements of such guidelines.