Seanad debates
Thursday, 28 April 2022
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Planning Issues
10:30 am
Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for taking time out of his schedule to be here. Recently published reports I have seen indicate we need approximately 50,000 homes to be built every year for the next 30 years. That information was published before we welcomed thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country to our shores. Trying to find homes for our young people is clearly the number one social crisis we face. Thankfully, we are beginning to make progress on this issue, despite the obstacles posed by Covid-19 and many other factors. I compliment the Minister of State and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on the work they are doing in this regard.
Housing starts for the last year exceeded the target of 35,000. It is welcome and commendable that we have reached that level. We have much more work to do, however, and it is important in this context that we remove any obstacles that could hinder young people in their efforts to try to find homes. I have been contacted by several young people who obtained planning permission to build homes in the last five years. They have been unable to commence building those homes because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the inflation levels we have, and have had for decades, the shortage of building materials and difficulties getting builders and other tradespeople. Those young people are finding that their planning permissions are about to expire. Such planning permission, as the Minister of State is aware, normally has a fixed duration of five years. It is possible to get an extension under section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, where substantial work has been completed on a home. An extension of approximately two years can be obtained in those circumstances to allow the building to be finished.
The young people I am dealing with have been unable to start the works for which they have planning permission. They were able to get the required planning permission, but they have not been able to start the building work. I firmly believe that in cases where young people have got planning permission, but where its validity is now nearing an end because it has not been possible to commence building works due to a combination of factors, including the impact of Covid-19 and challenges regarding costs and finding materials and builders and other tradespeople, there should be some flexibility in the system to allow for the extension of that planning permission for approximately two years. That would allow people in such circumstances to build the homes they need so badly.
Such facilitation operated until recently, perhaps until last September or October, when local authorities were informed that it would no longer apply. I can understand that change in the context of large projects where developers, for whatever reason, might not be able to follow through. A push is under way to try to get as much building done as possible. However, in situations where young people who spent thousands of euro getting planning permission were unable, through no fault of their own, to commence their homes, an extension should be granted to allow them to start to building them. We all know we need many more homes for our young people to enable us to start making inroads in addressing this crisis. I hope the Minister of State will have some positive news for me. No pressure, of course.
Tim Lombard (Fine Gael)
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Before the Minister of State responds, I welcome our visitors in the Gallery. They are more than welcome. I call the Minister of State.
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Gallagher for his important intervention in this area. I also agree with the sentiments expressed about the tours of the Houses. It is great to see people back in the Gallery. It is important that the Oireachtas is open to students and for people to be able to see the great work that goes on here.
The duration of planning permission is generally set at five years, but planning authorities may grant shorter or longer durations. The maximum duration for residential development planning permission to remain valid is ten years. Section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, for example, enables a planning authority to extend the initial duration of planning permission, provided that certain conditions are met. In September 2021, the Minister instituted a package of measures to amend section 42 of the Act and related provisions in the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, including, among other aspects, a new temporary provision in the context of section 42. Section 42(1B) was introduced to respond to the construction delays caused by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. This provided a further extension of the duration for planning permission by an extra two years, or until 31 December 2023, whichever first occurs, subject to certain requirements being met. Section 28(1) of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 was commenced, which entailed the deletion of section 42(1)(a)(ii) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. This removes the possibility of an extension of duration for uncommenced developments or developments where substantial works have not been carried out.
Section 42(8) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 was introduced to provide that: "A planning authority shall not extend the appropriate period under this section in relation to a permission if an environmental impact assessment or an appropriate assessment would be required in relation to the proposed extension". As such, a planning authority can only grant an extension of duration where it is satisfied that: the development has commenced; substantial works have been completed; the development will be completed in a reasonable time; and an environmental impact assessment and appropriate assessment are not required for the proposed extension.
I note the concerns raised regarding the lack of a lead-in time for the commencement of section 28(1) of the 2016 Act which deleted the power to grant an extension of duration for uncommenced development. However, this provision has been enacted on the Statute Book since 2016, providing ample time for developers to apply for an extension of duration or to commence a development before the provision was commenced in 2021. Cognisant of the recent impacts of Covid-19 on the construction industry, section 42(1B) provides, on a temporary basis, for further extensions in respect of planning permissions where an extension of duration has already been availed of, by up to an additional two years or until 31 December 2023, whichever first occurs. This will facilitate the completion of developments - such as vital housing projects - already commenced and with substantial works carried out, which were delayed or interrupted due to the impacts of Covid-19 on construction activity.While there may be legitimate reasons a developer has not commenced or carried out substantial works under a planning permission, to allow such developments avail of an extension or further extension beyond their initial duration of five years or possibly more in such circumstances would conflict with the Department's objective to expedite the activation of planning permissions and completion of developments that have substantial work already carried out, particularly in respect of the delivery of housing. Any interventions in this area must have a positive effect on development and incentivise developers to activate and complete planning permissions to the greatest extent possible, particularly with regard to housing developments. Accordingly, it is not under consideration at this point to provide for further extensions of duration for planning permissions for developments that have not been commenced or have not been substantially completed within the initial duration of the permission.
Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I am hugely disappointed with it. Most of the reference here seems to apply to developers. I am not talking about developers, but about young people who are trying to build a one-off house, many of whom reside in the Minister of State's constituency as well. A pandemic the like of which we have never seen, inflationary issues we have not seen in decades and difficulty getting materials, builders and tradespeople have meant they have been unable to commence building their homes, through no fault of their own. They have spent thousands trying to get a planning application together, have got planning permission and, now, with the stroke of a pen and no lead-in time in relation to planning applications granted in the past five years, they find themselves in a bind and cannot move forward. Now we are inflicting further financial hardship on them by saying they will have to pay for planning permission again and go through the entire process again. It is hugely unfair. This response makes no reference to the young couple trying to build a one-off house.
Will the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, have a second look at this? We are not talking about developers. I appreciate we need houses. We all know that, but I am trying to help out young people trying to get their foot on the ladder. This is a kick in the teeth to them.
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for his intervention. This decision was taken during the Covid period. The Minister took the decision to allow five-year planning permissions to take their course and not extend them as has been done heretofore.
I will raise it. I understand the issue in terms of many one-off planning applicants in my constituency. Many of them were not fully aware of this when it came upon them. I have raised it in the Department because I was concerned about it. Unfortunately, at the moment I do not see an openness to change. I will raise it with the Minister again and invite the Senator to do so because it is difficult for young couples who are trying to grapple with inflationary pressures.
There is another side of the coin with these permissions. I have seen that one-offs can go on and on and not be delivered upon, unfortunately, due to different circumstances. I can see why the planning system wants to tidy things up but sometimes there are unintended consequences to bigger developments that can be felt locally.