Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 May 2022
115. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if there are any circumstances in which a late appeal will be accepted by An Bord Pleanála; if the time limit for appeals will be reviewed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23649/22]
View answerAppeals to An Bord Pleanála are made under section 37 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act). An applicant for permission and any person who made submissions or observations in writing in relation to the planning application to the planning authority in accordance with the permission regulations and on payment of the appropriate fee, may, at any time before the expiration of the appropriate period, appeal to the Board against a decision of a planning authority made under section 34 of the Act. Section 37(1)(d) states that “the appropriate period” means the period of four weeks beginning on the day of the decision of the planning authority. Section 37(3) states that an appeal received by the Board after the expiration of the appropriate period (4 weeks) shall be invalid as not having been made in time. In effect, there is no provision for the acceptance of late appeals by the Board for any reason outside the appropriate period mentioned.
Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland sets out a number of objectives with the aim of improving the functioning of the planning system including the comprehensive review and consolidation of planning legislation. This review is being led by the Attorney General and he has established a working group of professionals with planning law expertise to assist him in this work. All provisions of the Act will be examined in the context of this review, which is due to be finalised by September 2022 to allow any updated legislation to be enacted by December 2022.
