Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

601. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason elected members who have the authority to adopt the county development plan and bring it into effect do not have the authority to make variations to the plan. [43519/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The relevant provisions setting out the procedure to initiate a variation to a City or County Development Plan or a Local Area Plan are set out in the Planning Acts.

Recognising the different roles of both elected members and officials, planning and local government legislation distinguishes between legal functions reserved to the elected members on the one hand, and executive functions on the other, both being part of the planning authority.

Section 13 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) sets out the legislative basis for varying a Development Plan.  With regard to the initiation of a variation to a development plan, Section 13(1) states:

A planning authority may at any time, for stated reasons, decide to make a variation of a development plan which for the time being is in force.

The administrative steps associated with formally initiating the variation process, such as placing advertisements, writing to prescribed bodies notifying them of the commencement of the variation process as set out under sections 13(1)-(4) are executive powers of the officials, as no Council resolution is required to invoke these sections.

However, the elected members are the decision-makers at an overall policy level, once presented with the aspects of the plan to be varied.  For example, subsection 13(6) allocates specific powers for elected members to consider reports and recommendations of the Chief Executive and to subsequently decide whether or not to vary the development plan. 

While elected members are not empowered to direct the Chief Executive to initiate a variation to a Development Plan, they may at any time request their officials to consider the initiation of a review, which the executive would normally respond to by way of a formal report to the Council on the merits or otherwise of the relevant proposal and the practical aspects of same.

My Department is currently reviewing and updating its Planning Guidelines on Development Plans and will be incorporating and clarifying the plan variation process in the revised draft with a view to publication for public consultation later in the Autumn.