Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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628. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the details of the regulations for outdoor dining (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31559/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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With a view to supplementing the Outdoor Dining Enhancement Grant Scheme which was announced earlier this year by my colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and further to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, a package of amending planning regulations were made on 30 April 2021 to assist in facilitating outdoor dining as well as increased vibrancy and commercial activity in urban areas, particularly in relation to the hospitality and restaurant sectors.

The package of regulations includes the waiving of the street furniture licence fees in respect of tables and chairs used for serving food outside hotels, restaurants, pubs and other establishments in the current year; enabling restaurants to operate as takeaways for the remainder of 2021 without having to apply for change of use planning permission; and revised planning arrangements in relation to the erection of awnings, canopies and other structures at such establishments to support outdoor dining with no fee being applied for the erection of such structures where ancillary to a street furniture licence for tables and chairs.

Furthermore, detailed information on the content of the new regulations and advice on their practical implementation was communicated by my Department to planning authorities by way of Planning Circular Letter PL 06-2021 which issued on 30 April last and which is available at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/circular/b41c5-circular-pl-062021-takeaway-and-outdoor-dining-planning-amendments/

The street furniture licensing system provided for in section 254 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 relates to specific appliances and structures that are to be placed on, above, under or along a public road and does not extend to property in private ownership.

If a business requires an awning for separate purposes unrelated to outdoor dining along a public road, it will need to apply for planning permission to their relevant local authority, with the normal planning application and fee procedures applying. This allows the impacts of awnings including their scale, the need to observe relevant apparatus standards, impacts on pedestrians, residential amenity, traffic management, protected structures, the location of the premises etc to be taken into account in the consideration of any such planning application.

Where a question arises on whether development is or is not development, or is or is not exempted development, any person may seek a declaration from the planning authority under section 5 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, as amended.

Under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned.