Vol. 509 No. 1
246 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if he will issue a planning regulation which would exempt child care below a certain threshold number of children from planning permission requirements in the same way as has been done for bed and breakfast accommodation. [19575/99]
As with any new development, the establishment of a new purpose-built child care facility requires planning permission. Where a child care facility is established in a pre-existing dwelling, planning permission may also be required for two reasons, firstly because it represents a material change of use of the dwelling and secondly, where external works are required to accommodate the child care facility. There is currently no specific exemption in the planning regulations with regard to child care facilities.
My Department has commenced work on the preparation of guidelines for planning authorities on child care facilities with a view to publishing draft guidelines for public consultation early next year. In this context, the question of whether or not certain types of child care facilities should be exempt from the requirement to obtain planning permission will be considered.
