25 such applications (Roscommon - 10, Offaly – 14, Kildare - 1) were received in my Department. No applications were approved. All applicants were advised in writing that the activity for which consent was sought would be likely, both individually and in combination with other plans and projects, to have a significant effect on the European Site concerned and, therefore, likely to require an Appropriate Assessment. The applications in question fall within the scope of Regulation 31 of the European Communities (Birds and Habitats) Regulations 2011, which sets out a procedure to determine whether such applications require consent under the Planning and Development Acts.
My Department offered to have individual cases referred to An Bord Pleanála for a determination as to whether planning permission is required. To date, this offer has not been taken up by any of the applicants.