Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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762. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if he will clarify the secondary legislation and guidelines that apply in relation to section 247 of the Planning and Development Act 2000; his plans to make new legislative provisions in respect of this section; if so, the timeframe for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23201/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Section 247 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended deals with pre-planning application consultation meetings between planning authorities and prospective planning applicants. Chapter 2 of the Development Management Guidelines, published in June 2007 (available at ), provides extensive guidance to both local authorities and prospective planning applicants with regard to the conduct of such pre-planning application consultation meetings.

I intend to publish a Planning and Development (No.2) Bill in the coming months with a view to enactment by the end of the year. The Bill will primarily deal with the recommendations of the Mahon Tribunal – including the proposed establishment of the Office of the Planning Regulator – as well as various provisions relating to enhanced transparency and streamlining of the planning system. In addition to the provisions that have already been outlined in the General Scheme of the Bill as published in January 2015, my Department is presently giving consideration to further amendments that might be required to the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, including amendments that might be introduced at Committee Stage of the forthcoming Bill.

Consideration will be given as to whether the section 247 provisions on pre-planning consultation meetings require amendment in this context.