Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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287. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his views on amending S.I. No. 600/2001 - Planning and Development Regulations, 2001 as amended, to ensure that local authorities validate and make publicly available on their websites and online platforms or in planning authority public offices all documents relating to a planning application in a timely manner, and to ensure that the public have sufficient time to review and make submissions on applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14877/23]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The timely making available of planning application documents to the public has been most recently addressed by the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Section 38) Regulations 2020. These regulations, which were signed on 22 May 2020, require that where a planning application is made to a planning authority, the planning authority shall -

(a) not later than 5 working days after the day on which it receives the application, or

(b) where exceptional circumstances exist, as soon as practicable after the expiration of the period of 5 working days referred to in paragraph (a),

publish the application and all documentation accompanying the application on its internet website.

Additionally, where a planning authority receives a document relating to a planning application at any time after receipt by it of that application, the planning authority shall –

(a) not later than 5 working days after the day on which it receives the document, or

(b) where exceptional circumstances exist, as soon as practicable after the expiration of the period of 5 working days referred to in paragraph (a),

publish the document on its internet website.

It should also be noted that, for the purposes of these regulations exceptional circumstances exist if, by reason of –

(a) an occurrence that was not reasonably foreseeable by the planning authority concerned,

(b) an occurrence that, though reasonably foreseeable by the planning authority, could not reasonably have been prevented by the planning authority, or

(c) the size or number of documents concerned,

the planning authority could not, by the adoption of all reasonable measures, have complied with the requirement to publish the documentation within 5 working days.

Furthermore, in accordance with article 26(9) of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, on receipt of a planning application, a planning authority shall make the planning application available for inspection, or purchased at a fee not exceeding the reasonable cost of making a copy, at the offices of the planning authority during its public opening hours.