John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Duffy for his kind words, which I appreciate, and for giving me an opportunity to update the House on planning legislation and particularly applications by Uisce Éireann. While the Planning and Development Act 2024 was signed into law in October 2024, its provisions have not yet been commenced. Until all of it is in place, the 2000 Act will remain in force.

All development requires development permission unless it is specifically exempted. As such, Uisce Éireann is required to adhere to planning legislation and seek the necessary planning permissions where required. At present, Uisce Éireann can apply to a planning authority for planning permission under section 34 of the 2000 Act for development that is not strategic infrastructure. The process provides that where no further information is required from Uisce Éireann, a planning authority shall make a decision within eight weeks of the date of the application, in accordance with section 34(8) of the 2000 Act. This eight-week period is considered reasonable for the making of a decision. A decision of a planning authority under section 34 of the 2000 Act may be subject to appeal by An Bord Pleanála under section 37 of that Act. The board has a statutory objective to meet timelines of appeal within 18 weeks.

For applications for permission that fall under the category of strategic infrastructure, such as a wastewater treatment plant with capacity to cater for a population of 10,000 or more, Uisce Éireann is required to apply directly to An Bord Pleanála under section 37E of the 2000 Act. The board has a statutory objective to make a decision on such an application within 18 weeks of the last day of the period for the making of submissions, which is a period of not less than six weeks in accordance with section 37E(3)(a) of the 2000 Act. The timeline for a decision is a minimum of 24 weeks.

The Senator is proposing that applications by Uisce Éireann should undergo the Part 8 process through partnership with local authorities to avail of the "local authority own development" procedures under section 179 of the 2000 Act. When no environmental impact assessment is required, local authorities follow the Part 8 process, which is a reserved function of elected members. This process includes a period of not less than four weeks for the making of submissions by the public under Article 81 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. Under section 179 of the 2000 Act, following the public submission period, the chief executive has eight weeks for the making of a report on the proposed development for submission to the elected members. Finally, the elected members have six weeks to make a decision on the proposed development, which means that there is a total of 18 weeks for decisions under the Part 8 process.

I can confirm it is open to local authorities to enter into partnership with any party, including Uisce Eireann. However, a development under the Part 8 process requires a full majority of the council to approve the project. Additionally, the members of the local authority may, by resolution, vary or modify the proposal by Uisce Éireann, which could present a risk to the project in question. However, I believe there is merit in this proposal to unlock development in towns and villages with populations under 10,000. I am engaging with my officials in this regard. I am conscious of time. Developments that require an EIA are above that threshold. There is limited scope in improving time periods in that regard. However, there may be scope to further tease out the provisions in respect of developments that do not require the Part 8 process, which are typically those involving areas below 10,000 in population.