Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 4) Regulations (S.I. 605 of 2022) were introduced to assist the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (MCEDIY) in meeting Ireland’s legal obligation to provide accommodation to international protection applicants. The Regulations amend Part 1 of Schedule 2, entitled ‘Exempted Development -General’, to the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, to insert a new Class 20F exemption, with the structures in question being temporarily exempted from the requirement to obtain change of use planning permission. The regulations allow the temporary use - up until 31 December 2024 - of certain structures by or on behalf of the MCEDIY to accommodate or support persons seeking international protection.

Following engagement with the MCEDIY and as part of the response to the ongoing unprecedented demand for the accommodation of those seeking international protection, the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No 4) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 376 of 2023) - the "2023 Regulations" - extended the exemption provided by S.I. 605 of 2022, from 31 December 2024 to 31 December 2028. In addition, in order to provide greater flexibility in how sourced accommodation is used, the regulations extend the scope of the exemption provided by S.I. 605 of 2022 to include structures being used to accommodate persons displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Under the regulations, the use for the purposes of accommodating displaced Ukrainian persons shall - unless it is extended in the meantime - be discontinued when the temporary protection introduced by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 as part of the EU response to the invasion of Ukraine comes to an end, while the use for the purposes of accommodating persons seeking international protection shall be discontinued not later than 31 December 2028.