Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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233. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the rules and procedures for Ministers making representations in regard to planning decisions in areas of policy for which they have Ministerial responsibility. [13107/22]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Section 33(1) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended ‘the Act’, states that the Minister shall by regulations provide for such matters of procedure and administration as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient in respect of applications for permission for the development of land.  Section 33(2)(f) states that these regulations may make provision for requiring planning authorities to notify prescribed authorities of such proposed development or classes of development as may be prescribed or consult with them in respect thereof and give to them such documents, particulars, plans or other information in respect thereof as may be prescribed.

Article 28 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended ‘the regulations’, states that where a planning authority receives a valid planning application, the authority shall send notice to prescribed bodies as soon as may be after receipt of the application.  The legislation requires that many of the prescribed bodies are to be contacted directly via the Minister with responsibility for that policy area. Article 28(2) of the regulations outlines the process involved and states that any submission or observation made to the authority in relation to the application before the decision is made on the application will be taken into account by the authority in making its decision on the application.

It should be noted that Article 29 of the regulations states that any person or body, which would include those who are not prescribed bodies, on payment of the prescribed fee, may make a submission or observation in writing to a planning authority in relation to a planning application within the period of 5 weeks beginning on the date of receipt by the authority of the application.

Under section 30 of the Act, as Minister, I am 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. Therefore, I cannot make any comment in relation to individual planning applications.