Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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60. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding the number of notifications of change of use from commercial use to residential use issued to planning authorities under Regulation S.I. No. 75/2022 - Planning and Development Act (Exempted Development) Regulations 2022, broken down by county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26355/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of specific forms of development are provided for when they are considered to be consistent with proper planning and sustainable development.

The Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2018 provided for an exemption, up until the end of 2021, from the requirement to obtain planning permission in respect of the change of use of certain vacant commercial premises, including vacant or under-utilised areas over ground-floor shops and offices, to residential use. This measure was aimed at facilitating the productive re-use of qualifying vacant commercial buildings as homes, while also facilitating urban renewal and the bringing on stream of increased housing supply.

Under Housing for All, the 2018 Regulations were subsequently extended until the end of 2025 by way of the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) Regulations 2022. These Regulations included a new class of premises eligible to avail of the planning exemption, that of public houses capable of providing up to a maximum of 9 residential units. The inclusion of this new exemption class is designed to ease the burden of converting public houses, which are no longer viable and have ceased to operate - and of which there are many in our cities, towns and villages throughout the country - to residential accommodation.

A table containing the information requested regarding the change of use notifications received, from local authorities in relation to the years 2018 - 2023 is attached.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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61. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if any disability-proofing took place in regard to the Planning and Development Bill 2023, as required under article 4 (3) of the UNCRPD, to ensure that the built environment is fit for all residents for the foreseeable future. [26368/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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The Planning and Development Bill 2023 is the culmination of a comprehensive legal review of the Planning and Development Bill 2000 (as amended) by the Office of the Attorney General. There was consultation with stakeholders as part of the Review followed by extensive pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill. The Bill is currently before the Oireachtas and recently completed all stages in the Dáil.

Alongside the Bill, a full review of the Planning and Development Regulations is underway and updated regulations are being prepared to enable the new Act to be commenced. There will be consultation, where required, on these regulations.

Each planning authority must include prepare Development Plans for their functional area, which provide for people with disabilities. In section 48 of the Bill, the strategy must include “the provision, or the facilitation of the provision, improvement, extension and preservation of amenities, facilities and services to meet the social, community, recreational and cultural requirements of the functional area, including the needs of children, the elderly and persons with disabilities”.

Separately, my Department sets Building Regulations requirements for new buildings and extensions or material alterations to existing buildings, to comply with the legal minimum performance standards set out in the Building Regulations 1997 - 2024. In this context, the Building Regulations (Part M Amendment) Regulations 2010, and the accompanying Technical Guidance Document (TGD) M – Access and Use (2010), which came into effect on 1 January 2012, set out the minimum statutory requirements that a building must achieve in respect of access. The TGDs are available on my Department’s website at

www.housing.gov.ie/housing/building-standards/tgd-part-d-materials-and-workmanship/technical-guidance-documents.

The requirements of Part M aim to ensure that regardless of a persons’ age, size or disability:

• new buildings other than dwellings are accessible and usable;• extensions to existing buildings other than dwellings are, where practicable, accessible and useable;• material alterations to existing buildings other than dwellings increase the accessibility and usability of existing buildings, where practicable;• certain changes of use to existing buildings other than dwellings increase the accessibility and usability of existing buildings where practicable; and• new dwellings are visitable.

Part M of the Building Regulations aims to foster an inclusive approach to the design and construction of the built environment. While the Part M requirements may be regarded as a statutory minimum level of provision, the accompanying technical guidance encourages building owners and designers to have regard to the design philosophy of universal design and to consider making additional provisions, where practicable and appropriate. In addition, the Design Manual for Urban Roads and Streets (DMURS) responds to the principles of universal design, as outlined in documents including ‘Building for Everyone, A Universal Design Approach’.

Disability Access Certificates, which specify that the works or building to which the application relates will, are carried out in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted and comply with the requirements of Part M of the Building Regulations. It is an offence to occupy or use a building without having a valid Disability Access Certificate in place as required.