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Planning Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2018

Tuesday, 18 December 2018

Questions (665)

Jim O'Callaghan

Question:

665. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the measures taken further to the decision of a company (details supplied) to cancel its planned data centre investment in Athenry, County Galway; his plans to address deficits in planning legislation; if an analysis of the reason the company made the decision has been commissioned; and the measures being taken to ensure there is not a similar occurrence. [53092/18]

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Written answers

I am actively progressing a number of measures under my remit that are included in the Strategic Policy Framework agreed by Government in October 2017 for the continued development of data centres in Ireland, as part of wider economic growth and balanced regional development.

The National Planning Framework, published in February of this year, includes an objective for the promotion of Ireland as a sustainable international destination for ICT infrastructure such as data centres and associated economic activities and embeds policy support for data centres into the planning policy hierarchy.

Section 49 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 amends the Seventh Schedule of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, to provide that data centre facilities consisting of one or more than one structure with a combined gross floor space exceeding 10,000 square metres will be classed as strategic infrastructure developments. This change will mean that applications for planning permission for larger data centres will be made directly to An Bord Pleanála, thereby streamlining the planning decision-making process in respect of such proposed developments. It is proposed to commence section 49 of the 2018 Act shortly.

I also intend to issue statutory planning guidelines under section 28 of the 2000 Act, requiring mandatory pre-application public participation in respect of windfarm development proposals, which will serve as a pilot case to assess how best to obtain the benefits of public participation in respect of strategic infrastructure development projects. The outcome of this pilot will feed into a general review of existing planning legislation to determine if any other changes are necessary in respect of strategic infrastructure development projects in the light of experience including the scope for potential further streamlining of the planning procedures for such projects as well as possible reforms of the judicial review provisions relating to such projects.

I am confident that implementation of the range of measures set out in the Government's Strategic Policy Framework for data centres, as well as the other reforms being considered, will speed up the planning consent process for future data centres, without diminishing the crucial role of public and community consultations in the consideration of individual proposals for development.

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