Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome and thank the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, for coming in to take this Commencement matter.

I will read the Commencement matter again to highlight some issues in it. It is to request that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage would relax the conditions for the extension of planning permission for one-off housing under section 42(1)(b) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in light of delays caused by Covid and now the inflation in construction costs, which could result in many planning permissions granted in 2018 expiring in 2023 with parties being unable to commence construction in the time period.

I specifically included one-off housing because if my request were to be successful, the last thing I or anyone would want is a carte blancheextension. We are all aware that people are reputedly hoarding development sites and this might give them a window to extend that period of hoarding. I am specifically asking that consideration be given for people who had planning permission for one-off housing.

The reason for the request is that a number of people have contacted me with quite genuine reasons they are unlikely to be able to commence construction before their planning permission expires. For example, people whose banks reneged on their mortgage when they went on the employment wage subsidy scheme and they ended back at square 1. Some people could not get builders because of the lockdown. Two years were basically lost in every sphere of life and some people are still in the situation of having Covid-related health issues, be it long-Covid or whatever. It has put a stall to their gallop, to coin a phrase. They may get started but at the moment the conditions state they must have a reasonable amount of work done and in most cases councils will insist that is up to wall plate level. This is unlikely to happen before their planning expires in 2023.

Provisions were made during Covid for planning permissions that were granted during that period of time and that expires at the end of 2023. It is well worth considering or looking at this again. As I have said, I am not requesting it be done in a carte blanchefashion. If it were to happen, I would include conditions that people have to apply and give plausible reasons as to why they could not proceed for the council to examine on a case-by-case basis. It is unfair where people have genuine Covid related reasons and indeed when we got out of Covid we entered the construction inflation period which again is a hindrance to many people. People have genuine reasons for not being able to proceed, for maybe not being able to commence on time, but they still genuinely intend to go ahead. If they were allowed to make a case, without being required to have commenced and to have reached a specific level with their house, it would be of benefit to the one-off housing market in rural Ireland. I stress again, as I did at the outset, I specifically made this request about one-off housing. The last thing I want to start is a process from which people who are hoarding larger development sites benefit.