Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 552: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 197 and 198 of 27 September 2007, the number of planning permissions refused by local authority planning departments under their new powers to refuse planning permission to a developer who has substantially failed to comply with a previous planning permission; the location of these refusals; his views on whether this new power has been used by the various local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19282/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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As indicated in the reply to Question Nos 197 and 198 of 27 September 2007, the non-completion of any development in line with the planning permission for that development is unauthorised development, which is an offence under the Planning Acts. Enforcement of planning control is a matter for the planning authorities, which have substantial enforcement powers and duties under the Planning Acts.

The power to refuse planning permission to a developer who has substantially failed to comply with a previous planning permission was introduced under the Planning and Development Act 2000. This provision was further strengthened under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006, to allow planning authorities refuse planning permission in such circumstances, without recourse to the High Court, effectively reversing the burden of proof in such cases.

The use of these powers, and the enforcement of planning control across the range of provisions for enforcement action in cases of breaches of the planning code, is a matter for each planning authority. My Department does not, therefore, hold information on the extent to which the new powers are being applied by planning authorities. However, data on local authority performance on planning enforcement more generally are included in the publication Service Indicators in Local Authorities produced annually by the Local Government Management Services Board and available in the Oireachtas Library.