Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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233. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will review the section 254 licensing system for telecommunications infrastructure; if he will consider amending the relevant legislation to ensure that applications for this infrastructure go through the standard planning process, thereby facilitating public consultation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61477/22]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Overground electronic communications infrastructure and any associated physical infrastructure was inserted into section 254 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act) via legislative measures introduced by the then Minister with responsibility for Communications through the Communications Regulation Act 2002 (20/2002). This was then enhanced with measures provided through the European Union (Reduction of Cost of Deploying High-Speed Public Communications Networks) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 391 of 2016) which is also under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications.

Further amendments to these provisions would be a policy matter for the current Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to consider.

It should also be noted that exemptions from planning also apply to certain forms of telecommunications infrastructure under Class 31 of Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended. This provides that certain classes of development carried out by a statutory undertaker authorised to provide a telecommunications service are, subject to specified conditions, exempted development from the requirement to obtain planning permission. Where the conditions and size thresholds specified in the exemption class are not complied with or are exceeded in respect of a particular form of telecommunications infrastructure, planning permission is required.