Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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159. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to expand the criteria to protect more trees on private and public land; if he will issue a national directive to oblige counties to develop a tree management strategy; his further plans to develop a national tree plan to streamline tree preservation orders across each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19454/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Detailed provisions in relation to the preservation of trees are set out in section 205 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Under these provisions, planning authorities may - where it appears to them to be expedient in the interests of amenity or the environment - make a tree preservation order (TPO) in respect of any tree, trees, group of trees or woodlands specified in the order. The principle effect of a TPO is to prohibit the cutting down, topping, lopping or wilful destruction of trees without the planning authority’s consent. The order can also require the owner and occupier of the land subject to the order to enter into an agreement with the planning authority to ensure the proper management of the tree, trees or woodland in question.

Where a planning authority proposes to make a TPO, it shall serve a notice on the owner and occupier of the land affected by the proposed TPO and publish notice of the proposed TPO in a local newspaper. The notice shall detail the planning authority’s proposed TPO, state that submissions or observations made within 6 weeks of the notice shall be taken into consideration by the planning authority in its final determination on the order, and that any person who contravenes an order or proposed order shall be guilty of an offence. A planning authority may also amend or revoke a TPO by following the same procedures. A TPO shall not apply to the cutting down, topping or lopping of trees which are dying, dead, or have become dangerous, a nuisance or hazard. Planning authorities are required to enter details of TPOs in their planning registers.

The development and oversight of the implementation of TPOs are a matter for the individual planning authorities in whose functional areas relevant trees or woodland are located. I have no current plans to amend the legislative provisions in this regard.