Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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237. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if a role will be assigned to the Planning Regulator to determine whether vexatious behaviour, such as ignoring the findings of strategic environmental assessments, appropriate assessments in accordance with the habitats directive or strategic flood risk assessments and failing to provide adequate technical planning reasons for doing so, have contributed to the requirement for ministerial directions on development plans and local area plans; if any future legislation will consider possible sanctions to discourage vexatious behaviour; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38445/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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On 12 January 2015, my Department published a General Scheme of a Bill to provide for the establishment of the Office of the Planning Regulator; the General Scheme is available on my Department’s website at the following weblink: .

The General Scheme provides that the Office of the Planning Regulator will be independent of my Department and its primary functions will include the assessment and evaluation of local area plans, local development plans and regional spatial and economic strategies, the provision of education and research on planning related matters, as well as powers to review the organisation, systems and procedures applied by planning authorities, including An Bord Pleanála, in the performance of their planning functions. It also provides, inter alia, that the Office of Planning Regulator shall, in performing its functions, have regard to the requirements of the EU Strategic Environmental Assessment and Habitats Directives, in so far as those requirements relate to planning authorities as competent authorities for the purposes of the Directives.

The detailed legislative Bill to underpin the establishment of the new independent Office of the Planning Regulator is intended to be submitted to Government for approval to publish shortly.