Aidan Davitt (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is nice to see the Minister of State here today. I thank him very much. This matter concerns one-off plannings. Section 42 of the Planning and Development Act could give a five-year extension to planning permissions. However, legislation, particularly section 7 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2021, about which I raised concerns at the time, has had unintended consequences. One-off housing planning permissions are tangled up in legislation which was introduced to push developers to start on larger developments. Over two years of Covid, a massive rise in building costs has seen some one-off houses put on hold.The change in law and the non-rolling over of the five-year planning permissions mean that a one-off homebuilder has to go through the whole planning process again. This was an unintended consequence of trying to push developers to build out houses and start developments. I would say it has had little or no impact on what it has tried to achieve. It is, however, causing life-changing problems for families starting off in life.

I ask the Minister of State to table an amendment to the planning and development Bill to take one-off homes out of section 7. I am sure this is a topic close to his heart, with various areas in his locality affected. I appreciate the Minister of State's time.