Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 June 2020
1241. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the instances in which he or a Minister of State in his Department made decisions contrary to the advice of the Office of the Planning Regulator in tabular form; and if he will provide a brief rationale for each instance. [9370/20]
View answerTo date, there have been no instances in which I, or a Minister of State in my Department, have made decisions contrary to the advice of the Office of the Planning Regulator (the Office).
The Office has a statutory role under Section 31P of the Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended (the Act), in the evaluation of matters relating to county and city development plans, variations to development plans, local area plans and regional spatial and economic strategies. The Office has a statutory function to inform the Minister if, in the opinion of the Office, any such plan or strategy is not consistent with its observations and recommendations.
To date, the Office has informed the Minister in relation to one such matter, and as that process is currently ongoing, I am not in a position to comment further.
In evaluating matters relating to the above plans/strategies, the Office must have regard to provisions set out in the Act including, but not limited to, the National Planning Framework, regional spatial and economic strategies, the principles of proper planning and sustainable development, relevant guidelines issued under Section 28 of the Act, relevant legislative policies and directives, and other provisions as set out in the Act.
Should there be an instance in which the Minister does not agree with the recommendations of the Office, the subsequent procedure is set out in Section 31AN of the Act:-
The Minister shall:
(i) prepare a statement in writing of his or her reasons for not agreeing,
(ii) cause that statement to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas, and
(iii) as soon as practicable, make that statement available on the website of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government.
