Peter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 121: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to amend legislation for planning permission that the proposer must sign an affidavit stating that the planning signs have been checked for visibility on a daily basis and that meetings will be arranged with local communities to explain the benefits and impacts of the proposed development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8688/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Planning legislation provides for extensive public notification of proposed development. For example, article 17 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001 – 2010, requires an applicant to erect a site notice in order to lodge a valid application for planning permission. Article 19 of the Regulations requires that this notice must be placed in a conspicuous position on or near the main entrance from a public road to the land or structure concerned, so as to be easily visible and legible by persons using the public road.

Alternatively, if the land or structure does not adjoin a public road, the site notice should be placed so as to be easily visible and legible by persons outside the land or structure. It is important to bear in mind, however, that although the notice must inform the public of the nature and extent of the application, it is only by examining the planning application lodged with the planning authority that a person will obtain full information on the proposed development.

The site notice must contain the date on which the site notice is erected and state that the planning application may be inspected or purchased at the offices of the planning authority and that a submission or observation in relation to the application may be made to the authority in writing, on payment of the prescribed fee, within the 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the planning authority of the application. The applicant must erect the site notice no sooner than 2 weeks before making the application for permission in order to facilitate third party inspection of the application. Where it appears to a planning authority that any notice does not comply with these requirements, they may require the applicant to give further notice and evidence in relation to compliance with such a requirement.

Article 18 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2006 also provides that a notice be published in a newspaper approved for this purpose. Each planning authority must decide which newspapers should be included on their approved list of newspapers in order to ensure that the newspapers used for the purpose of such notices have a sufficiently large circulation in its functional area. The current notification system, which provides for both a newspaper notice and a site notice, is kept under regular review in my Department.