Seán Kyne (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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590. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if, in consideration of the new obligations on persons with homes with septic tanks, a fast-track planning process may be implemented for the purposes of securing permission for upgrades and alterations necessary to be in compliance with new regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37151/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Under planning legislation, development works generally require planning permission unless specifically exempted from this requirement. Section 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, set out various exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission, subject in many cases to specific conditions.

Article 7 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Regulations 2013 amended Class 41 of Schedule 2, Part 1 of the Planning Regulations to provide that the carrying out of remedial works in compliance with an advisory notice issued under section 70H(5) of the Water Services Act 2007 (as inserted by section 4 of the Water Services (Amendment) Act 2012) is exempted development.

Accordingly such remedial works would normally be exempt from the requirement to obtain planning permission and would only, under section 4 of the Planning Act, require permission if an appropriate assessment of the works was required, having regard to possible impacts on a protected habitats site.

Planning permission is required for remedial works to septic tanks carried out outside of an advisory notice issued under 70H(5) of the Water Services Act 2007.

Section 34(8) of the Planning and Development Act provides that a planning authority shall make its decision on a planning application within the period of 8 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the planning authority of the application. Accordingly, planning authorities normally decide planning applications within 8 weeks, unless further information is required.

Where an appeal is lodged with An Bord Pleanala in relation to a planning decision by a local authority, the Board has a statutory objective under section 126(2) of the Planning and Develpoment Act to determine the matter within 18 weeks. The compliance rate with the statutory objective period for normal planning appeals stood at 81% for the period January to August 2014, and the average time taken was 16 weeks.

I do not consider these timeframes unduly long and I have no plans to provide a fast track planning application process for remedial works to septic tanks at this time.