Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
398. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he plans to grant a further extension to planning permissions for residential housing delayed by Covid-19 and by building supply issues; if he has estimated the numbers of such permissions due to expire without completion in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43029/21]
View answerSection 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended ('the Act') currently enables the holder of a planning permission to apply to a planning authority for an extension to the period of permission by an additional period not exceeding 5 years.
At present, if an extension to planning permission has been previously granted, the holder of a planning permission may be granted a further extension of duration under section 42(1A) of the Act in respect of a development that relates to 20 or more houses, where substantial works have been carried out, subject to the development being completed within 5 years of the originally extended permission or by 31 December 2021 (as extended by Government Orders in 2020 under Section 251A of the Act), whichever first occurs.
Section 7 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2021 ('the 2021 Act'), which was commenced on 9 September 2021, provides a temporary provision allowing for applications for further extensions of planning permissions which have already availed of an extension under section 42, or otherwise under section 42(1A), and in circumstances where no further extension is permissible. Where an application is made to a planning authority for a further extension, pursuant to the 2021 Act amendments, setting out the reasons why a development cannot be reasonably completed within the appropriate period as already extended, the planning authority shall further extend that period by an additional period of up to 2 years or until 31 December 2023, whichever first occurs, subject to the planning authority being satisfied of a number of matters, including that the development has commenced, substantial works have been carried out and that the extension is required to enable the development to be completed. This is subject also to the planning authority being satisfied that environmental impact assessment or appropriate assessment would not be required for the proposed extension of the appropriate period.
The specific number of housing projects which will be affected by the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2021 is not available in my Department. It is not be possible for me to speculate as to the number of housing projects, which have already availed of an extension under section 42 of the Act, or further extension under section 42(1A), and which will also avail of a further extension under the amendments introduced by the 2021 Act. Rather, it will be a matter for the relevant planning authority to determine whether the conditions for granting a further extension are satisfied on a case by case basis. In other words, this provision does not provide a blanket extension of duration for a certain class or classes of developments, but rather must be determined on a case by case basis by the relevant planning authority upon application to that authority.
It is understood that construction work has been significantly impacted, with both delays and site closures throughout 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, and most recently with the closure of non-essential construction sites on the 8 January 2021, which sites could only have reopened in April and May of this year at earliest. It is envisaged that an additional extension of 2 years or until 31 December 2023, which ever first occurs, is an appropriate period to address the disruption and delays to construction caused by Covid-19 pandemic and resulting restrictions. This period not only takes into account the period of restrictions on construction, but also addresses delays and disruptions in logistics, supply chains, and the availability of personnel when restarting construction work after the mandatory and unplanned closure of building sites over the last year.
