Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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1986. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will consider a further extension of planning permission for dwelling houses in which an extension of five years has already been granted and in circumstances where the person has been unable to undertake the work due to economic circumstances; if he will consider enabling the further extension of planning; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37453/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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Under the provisions of sections 40 and 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, planning permissions are generally granted for a period of five years with the possibility to extend that period by an additional period not exceeding five years to enable the development to which the permission relates to be completed subject to compliance with certain conditions.

These provisions were amended in the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016, and further amended in the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2017, to allow - as an exceptional measure - for the granting of a second extension of duration of planning permission in respect of certain developments of 20 houses or more for the purposes of enabling such developments, on which substantial work has been carried out either during the appropriate period or any extension of that period, but where progress has been delayed due to the economic downturn, to be completed. In such cases, a second extension of duration of planning permission shall not extend beyond 31 December 2021, the end date of the Government's Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan on Housing and Homelessness.

These arrangements in relation to the extension of duration of planning permissions are considered to be fair and reasonable and I have no plans to make any further legislative changes in this regard.