Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1049 and 1104 together.

The European Union (Planning and Development) (Displaced Persons from Ukraine Temporary Protection) Regulations 2022 (S.I. 306 of 2022) came into effect on 23 June 2022. The Regulations give effect to Council Directive No 2001/55 EC and Council Implementing Decision EU 2022/382 of 4 March 2022, to provide immediate protection in EU countries for persons displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the need to provide emergency accommodation and support to these displaced persons.

The regulations provide that certain classes of temporary development, including residential accommodation, undertaken by or on behalf of a State authority, to provide protection to displaced persons from Ukraine, will be exempt from the provisions of the Planning and Development Act (other than environmental considerations).

The environmental considerations which continue to apply, are Sections 181A to 181C of the Planning and Development Act, which provide for a streamlined Environmental Impact Assessment and Appropriate Assessment Process which is administered by An Bord Pleanála as required.

The specified development classes will not require planning permission for the period that the regulations are in place and will not be subject to the various restrictions that would normally apply to classes of exempted development.

The classes of development comprise of the following:

• Reception and integration facilities;
• Residential accommodation, including ancillary recreational and sporting facilities;
• Medical and other health and social care accommodation;
• Education and childcare facilities, including ancillary recreational and sporting facilities;
• Emergency management coordination facilities;
• Structures or facilities ancillary to development referred to above, including administration and storage facilities; and
• Infrastructure and other works ancillary to the above development.

The classes of development listed may include the change of use and repurposing of existing buildings and facilities, and temporary new-build accommodation and structures to address the urgent need to provide emergency accommodation and support to displaced persons from the conflict in Ukraine.

The duration of the Regulations is linked to the duration of temporary protection provided by European Council Implementing Decision EU 2022/382 of 4 March 2022. In accordance with Article 4(1) of the Temporary Protection Directive, temporary protection first applied for an initial period of one year, until 4 March 2023, and was then automatically extended for one additional year until 4 March 2024. Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/2409 extended the temporary protection by a further period of one year until March 2025.

The temporary exemptions from the Planning and Development Act will only apply while the regulations are in force. After this time the removal, demolition or alteration of any temporary structure and the discontinuance of any temporary use and, in so far as is practicable, the restoration of the land to its condition prior to the commencement of the development, will be required, unless the development is permitted, exempted or otherwise regularised by the a provision of the Planning and Development Act 2000, or the Planning and Development Regulations 2001-2022.

Further, as a response to the requirement to accommodate those seeking international protection, regulations were introduced in November 2022 (S.I. 605 of 2022) 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. These regulations permitted the change of use of certain structures for the purpose of providing the necessary facilities for international protection applicants. Where there is a proposed change of use to a protected structure and it would materially affect the protected structure, an exemption would not apply, under Section 57 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. In addition, where either Environmental Impact Assessment or Appropriate Assessment or both are required, an exemption would not apply, by virtue of Section 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

In 2023, S.I. 376 of 2023 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, the regulations extend the scope of the exemption provided by S.I. 605 of 2022 to include persons displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Under the regulations the use for the purposes of accommodating displaced persons shall be discontinued when the temporary protection introduced by the Council Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/382 of 4 March 2022 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.