John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 285: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if the applications to local authorities for permission to extend planning applications, particularly for once-off houses. will be dealt with as per the criteria under which they were originally granted or if they will be decided upon as per present criteria. [43992/10]

Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Under section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, any person applying for an extension of the duration of his or her planning permission will be granted such an extension, provided that substantial works have been carried out within the original permission duration (subject only to the condition that an application complying with the relevant Regulations was made before the expiration of the initial period).

The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2010 amends Section 42 of the 2000 Act and provides additional grounds for extension of the duration of planning permission. The amended section 42 provides that planning permission may be extended where substantial works have not been undertaken, or where the development has not commenced, in cases where a planning authority is satisfied that there were considerations of a commercial, economic or technical nature beyond the control of the applicant which substantially militated against either the commencement of development or the carrying out of substantial works pursuant to the planning permission. This latter provision is subject to the following qualifications –

· that the planning authority is satisfied that there have been no significant changes in the development objectives in the development plan or in regional development objectives in the regional planning guidelines for the area of the planning authority since the date of the permission such that the development would no longer be consistent with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area,

· that the planning authority is satisfied that the development would not be inconsistent with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area having regard to any guidelines issued by the Minister under section 28 of the Act, notwithstanding that they were so issued after the date of the grant of permission in relation to which an application is made under this section, and

· that the planning authority is satisfied where the development has not commenced, that an environmental impact assessment, or an appropriate assessment, or both of those assessments, if required, was or were carried out before the permission was granted.