Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 May 2004
206 Mr. Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of statements of pre-planning understandings, for compliance with Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2002 as amended by the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2002, signed to date based on the most recent information available and by local authority. [13810/04]
View answer207 Mr. Fleming asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of final agreements, for compliance with Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended by the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2002, signed and sealed, based on the most recent information available and by local authority and in tabular form. [13894/04]
View answer
I propose to take Questions Nos. 206 and 207 together.
Part V of the Planning and Development Acts 2000-02 requires, as a condition of a grant of planning permission for residential development or a mixture of residential and other developments, that the developer enter into an agreement with the planning authority on the provision of social and affordable housing. In guidance issued by my Department on the operation of Part V, authorities were encouraged to develop policies for its implementation locally and to engage in pre-planning consultations with developers. This ensured that all parties had a common understanding of the nature of the Part V agreement, the finalisation of which would be included as a condition of planning permission if granted. It was also suggested that authorities might find it useful to agree in writing the outcome of such discussions.
In monitoring the operation of Part V my Department collects various data from local authorities. It relates generally to numbers of units delivered, numbers in progress and numbers proposed on foot of agreements entered into, on a local authority basis. This is the most meaningful data to compile. My Department does not have information on the number of final agreements and statements of pre-planning understandings, if any, negotiated between local authorities and developers.
The most recent published information on activity, under Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, is contained in my Department's 2003 annual housing statistics bulletin, copies of which are available in the Oireachtas Library.
