Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 December 2021
244. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the action his Department can take in cases in which local authorities fail to protect the health of residents living adjacent to large construction sites in which such sites are clearly in breach of planning conditions leading to unacceptable levels of noise, vibration and dust. [60014/21]
View answerSection 34(4) of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act), provides for the attaching of a range of conditions to planning permissions by planning authorities as may be deemed necessary, including in relation to the following:
- the emission of any noise or vibration from any structure or site comprised in the development authorised by the permission which might give reasonable cause for annoyance either to persons in any premises in the neighbourhood of the development or to persons lawfully using any public place in that neighbourhood, or
- the intrusion of any noise or vibration which might give reasonable cause for annoyance to any person lawfully occupying any such structure or site;
The attaching of conditions to planning permissions is a matter that is determined locally by the relevant planning authority on a case by case basis.
Under planning legislation, enforcement of unauthorised development is a matter for the relevant planning authority, which can take action if a development does not have the required permission, or where the terms of a permission have not been met. There are extensive enforcement provisions provided for in Part VIII of the Act with a view to ensuring that works pertaining to permitted developments are carried out in accordance with the planning permission granted and any associated conditions, and that no unauthorised development takes place. In addition, any person or a planning authority may seek a court order under section 160 of the Act in relation to unauthorised development with a view to ensuring that the development works in question are not carried out or continued.
Under section 30 of the Act, I am precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned.
