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Housing Issues

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 May 2021

Tuesday, 11 May 2021

Questions (332)

John Lahart

Question:

332. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will address a series of matters (details supplied) in relation to strategic housing developments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23994/21]

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Written answers

The Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 (the 2016 Act) introduced new streamlined arrangements to enable planning applications for strategic housing developments (SHDs) of 100 housing units or more, or student accommodation or shared accommodation developments of 200 bed spaces or more, to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála (the Board) for determination.

In relation to judicial reviews, the recording of court cases is one in which I have no statutory function and is a matter for the Courts Service which is statutorily independent. Judicial reviews against the State, in which my Department may be included as a party, are coordinated by the Chief State Solicitors Office under the guidance of the Attorney General's Office.

Under section 30 of the Act, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or the Board is or may be concerned.

The Board can be challenged by Judicial Review on a range of its functions, including decisions on planning applications in respect of SHDs, and it publishes an update on legal cases in its Annual Report.

With specific regard to SHD applications received in respect of proposed developments in the functional areas of the four Dublin local authorities, I understand the Board has received 183 such SHD applications in respect of a total of 48,924 housing units (comprising 4,711 houses, 33,250 apartments and 10,963 build to rent), as well as 3,506 shared accommodation units and 10,290 student bed spaces from the commencement of the new SHD arrangements in 2017 up until end March 2021. Build to rent units make up 22% of the housing units applied for to date. 35 (19%) of the 183 applications in the four Dublin authorities included build to rent units.

Of the 183 SHD applications lodged, the Board has decided 153 of these cases with 4 further applications subsequently withdrawn. The Board has granted permission in 117 of these cases in respect of a total of 30,548 housing units (comprising 3,157 houses, 19,226 apartments and 8,165 build to rent), as well as 769 shared accommodation units and 7,870 student bed spaces under the SHD arrangements. I understand that the remaining 36 cases decided have either been refused by the Board or are developments which were originally granted by the Board but set aside as a result of a judicial review.

The status of individual developments which have been granted permission under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the 2000 Act), is not routinely maintained by my Department given that some 30,000 planning permissions are granted nationally on an annual basis. My Department has conducted periodic research on the activation rate of SHD permissions and the most recent data in this regard, from a review undertaken on 27 April 2021, would indicate that as of end March 2021, works have commenced on 36 (30.7%) of the 117 SHD permissions granted in the Dublin area since the arrangements came into operation. There can be some delay for various reasons, such as phasing of development, in the activation of housing developments post the granting of permission. In this connection, if permissions granted in 2020/2021 are excluded from the calculations, the data indicates that works have commenced on 49% of the SHD permissions granted in 2018 (when the first permissions were granted) and 2019.

The specific information sought in relation to how many Local Area Plans have been overridden by the SHD process is not maintained by my Department. Under the 2016 Act, planning applications for SHDs may only be made to the Board where the proposed development is on land zoned for such use. The zoning of lands for particular uses is a reserved function of the elected members of a planning authority, in accordance with the statutory development plan procedures under the 2000 Act.

Section 9(6) of the 2016 Act empowers the Board, where it deems it appropriate, to grant planning permission for a SHD that materially contravenes the development plan or local area plan relating to the area concerned and, in this regard, requires the Board to set out the main reasons and considerations for doing so in its decision. However, the Board shall not grant permission where the proposed development would materially contravene the zoning objective of the relevant plan.

The SHD provisions in the 2016 Act are in line with the pre-existing provisions in the 2000 Act, relating to the determination of planning applications generally, which provide that, where a proposed development would materially contravene the development plan, a planning authority may decide to grant permission, provided that the requirements set out in section 34(6) of the 2000 Act are complied with. In cases on appeal, where a planning authority has refused to grant permission for a proposed development because it would materially contravene the local development plan, and in certain cases where planning applications are made directly to the Board, the Board may grant planning permission for a proposed development that materially contravenes the development plan in specified circumstances only.

The 2017 SHD Regulations provide for the publication of a weekly list of applications received and applications determined or otherwise disposed of by the Board in relation to SHD cases. These weekly lists are available to view on the Board's website at http://www.pleanala.ie/.

Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly. The contact email address for An Bord Pleanála in this regard is oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie.

The Programme for Government - Our Shared Future commits to not extending the SHD arrangements beyond their legislative expiry date of end December 2021, which has now been extended to 25 February 2022 arising from the Covid-related extension of duration of statutory deadlines within the planning system by 8 weeks in respect of the period March to May 2020.

Work is ongoing on the development of new legislative proposals for the wind-up of the current SHD arrangements and the submission of large-scale housing planning applications (including student accommodation) to local planning authorities. It is intended to publish a General Scheme in this regard as soon as possible.

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