Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 515: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the obligations of a local authority to notify his Department of planning applications for rural one-off houses. [28422/10]

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 516: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the circumstances in which his Department will object to planning applications, or will appeal grants of such planning permissions, for rural one-off houses. [28423/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I propose to take Question Nos. 515 and 516 together.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is generally precluded under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, from exercising any power or control in relation to any individual matter with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned. Under the Planning Acts, the Minister may only intervene in the planning process in respect of heritage matters.

Under the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 to 2009, planning authorities are obliged to forward copies of development applications to the Minister where it appears to a planning authority that the proposed development could have an impact on either the built or natural heritage.

In the context of the Minister's role as statutory consultee within the planning process, where a development application has been referred to him, the Minister may recommend to the planning authority that further information should be requested from the applicant or that certain planning conditions should be included in a grant of permission. In exceptional cases, where significant negative impacts on nature conservation may not be mitigated or significant architectural and/or archaeological damage cannot be avoided, the Minister may recommend to the planning authority that planning permission should not be granted. However, final decisions on development applications are matters for the relevant planning authority or for An Bord Pleanála in the case of planning appeals.

Under section 33 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, a planning authority is required to give notice of its decision in respect of development applications to prescribed bodies and to persons who made submissions in respect of such applications. Having reviewed the decision of a planning authority, the Minister may take the view that the observations made by him in relation to a particular application have not been adequately addressed by the conditions attached to the grant of planning permission and an appeal in respect of the application may be lodged with An Bord Pleanála.