Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 473: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the procedure for applying to a local authority to extend the duration of a planning permission; the time frame for a decision to be given for such an application; if such a timeframe does not exist, why not; the appeals procedure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38451/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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The procedure for applying for an extension of duration of planning permission is set out in Article 42 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended by Article 5 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2010. An application must be made in writing, be accompanied by the appropriate fee as prescribed by Article 170 of the Regulations and contain the information set out in Article 42.

The previous provision in relation to a time-frame for deciding applications for extensions of permission (Section 42(2) of the 2000 Act) provided for a default decision to extend the duration of permission in a case where an application was not decided by the planning authority within 8 weeks. As this provision could have resulted in a situation where an applicant who did not comply with all the requirements of the section could get an extension due to the failure of the planning authority to decide the application in time, it was considered appropriate to amend it. The new provision, introduced in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 requires the planning authority to make its decision on an application for the extension of duration of planning permission as expeditiously as possible, and provides that it must be the objective of the planning authority to notify the applicant of its decision within the period of 8 weeks beginning on the date of application or submission of required further information, where relevant.

There is no appeal procedure for an application that has been granted or refused an extension of duration for permission. It is not considered that an appeal is required as the Act provides for an automatic extension in cases where the requirements of the legislation are complied with.