asked the Minister for Local Government the statutory position concerning the granting of planning permission to an applicant by a local authority who does not intend to commence development for at least five years; and if he will introduce amending legislation for the statutory review of such permissions.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Planning Permission.
43.
There is no statutory requirement that a time limit be placed on the carrying out of any development for which planning permission has been given by a planning authority. A blanket limitation such as that referred to in the question could cause hardship and I am not aware of the need for the introduction of the necessary legislation.
Does the Minister not consider it is quite undesirable that planning permission, either of an outline or final nature, should be obtained by somebody who has no intention of proceeding with the execution of the work for at least ten to fifteen years on account of the escalation of land values with a view to subsequently benefiting himself enormously from such speculation? Does the Minister not consider there should be some time limit either of five or six years on the execution of planning permission? That is a logical proposition. Would the Minister not consider reviewing the matter?
I do not think so. It would cause too many difficulties.
In what sense would it cause difficulties?
If you put a time limit on the granting of planning permission you would make it very difficult for certain work to proceed. There are all sorts of unforeseen circumstances which could arise which could make it difficult for that person to carry out the development work for which he was given permission. A typical example would be the recent cement strike which, if it had continued, would have made it impossible for people to have gone ahead with their development work within a time limit if a time limit had been attached to the permission.
I am not concerned about the five months delay arising out of the cement dispute. I am concerned with somebody who waits for five or six years before starting a development. Might I suggest to the Minister that he should have some review clause such as that the application be resubmitted after a period of five years, or some other clause? It is a fair proposition because quite dramatic social and environmental changes can occur over a five year period.
I do not think there is any need for this.