I move:
That leave be given to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Planning and Development Act 2000; to provide An Bord Pleanála with powers, functions and duties in relation to pending applications and appeals of long duration; and to provide for related matters.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to introduce this Private Members’ Bill, which will speed up housing and infrastructure in the economy. The Bill will force An Bord Pleanála to give decisions within a fixed timeframe. The projects that will benefit from it include energy projects that have been waiting almost two years for a decision. In the residential sector, there are approximately 80 pending applications for strategic housing, most of which were submitted at Easter 2022.
While a larger and more important Government planning Bill is in the offing, it will take many more months, given its scale. My Bill is short and to the point and addresses the time delays that have affected so many key projects. The Bill provides An Bord Pleanála with powers, functions and duties in respect of pending applications and appeals of long duration. I hope that the Government and all parties that want this country to grow and develop will support it.
It is understood from a widely reported study by Mitchell McDermott that the quantum of strategic housing development, SHD, units caught in the board's backlog of cases now stands at approximately 28,700. For context, this equates to 96% of Ireland's housing output in 2022. In a recent High Court judgment issued by Mr. Justice David Holland in respect of a case of this nature, he noted: "surprisingly, the question has never been explicitly decided which development plan applies in deciding a planning application where the development plan has been replaced [or even varied in a relevant respect] while the planning permission application is pending". He also noted that "legislative assistance would be very welcome" should the problem arise in future, which going by the number of SHD applications still in the system, it may well do.
The chair of An Bord Pleanála acknowledged recently that a number of pending applications and appeals are now considered aged. This gives rise to practical difficulties for the board, including where relevant considerations have changed since the application or appeal was first made. The Bill makes clear that the board remains under a duty to determine the application or appeal. Where an application or appeal has been pending for 12 months, whether accruing before or after the Bill, the board shall determine the application or appeal within 18 weeks. Where an application or appeal has been pending for a long duration the relevant considerations might have changed since the application or appeal was first made. The applicants for permission, many of which are housing related, should not be prejudiced by this. For this reason, the Bill prohibits the board from refusing permission solely for a reason connected with the relevant consideration that has changed without first inviting the applicant for permission to make submissions or observations on the relevant consideration.
The Bill makes clear that the board has the necessary powers to request information and invite submissions or observations from the parties and the public, as would be available on an ordinary appeal. These provisions will apply to pending applications for strategic housing development, strategic infrastructure and other applications made directly to the board. Capacity in An Bord Pleanála has been improved by my colleague the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in recent times. It now needs to be held to account to deliver decisions in cases. For the citizens and the economy, it now needs to meet statutory objective timeframes for decisions for a large number of cases. The Bill will ensure this. The board should now invest the effort required to make decisions on some of the pending applications, including where a development plan has changed, rather than letting them fall, which would mean losing housing stock while the State is deeply in need of the same stock.
