Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael)
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946. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will consider the introduction of a scheme under local authorities, where Clerks of Works assigned to local authorities inspect building developments at regular intervals to ensure that construction projects comply with the relevant planning permission and make the information of those inspections available to agencies and institutions that he would deem necessary; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38259/13]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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It is the responsibility of developers implementing a planning permission and carrying out development to ensure that they are compliant with the terms and conditions of that permission.

In turn, the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, places clear statutory obligations on planning authorities in relation to unauthorised development. A planning authority must issue a warning letter in relation to written complaints regarding unauthorised development, or other unauthorised development it becomes aware of (except in the case of trivial or minor development). There is also a statutory obligation to carry out an investigation and expeditiously decide whether an enforcement notice should be issued or a court order should be sought, under section 160 of the 2000 Act.  Where a planning authority establishes, following an investigation that unauthorised development (other than development that is of a trivial or minor nature) has been or is being carried out, and the person who has carried out the development has not proceeded to remedy the position, then the planning authority must issue an enforcement notice or seek a court order, unless there are compelling reasons for not doing so.

Planning authorities implement their enforcement functions by acting on complaints and/ or submissions from members of the public and by carrying out their own inspections from time to time and as appropriate.

I have no plans currently to amend the Planning Act in this regard.