Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 June 2022
92. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when the steps necessary to update the planning regulations for solar panels are due; the date the process of updating the planning regulations to facilitate the installation of solar panels will be finished with updated regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28207/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Planning and Development Act, 2000, as amended (the Act), all development, unless specifically exempted under the Act or associated Regulations, requires planning permission. Section 4 of the Act and Schedule 2 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended (the Regulations), set out various exemptions from the requirement to obtain planning permission. Any such exemptions are subject to compliance with any general restrictions on exemptions set out in the Act or the Regulations and to the specific conditions set out in each class of exempted development in Schedule 2 of the Regulations. Included in the planning exemptions set out in the Regulations are those applying to the installation of solar infrastructure on a variety of building types, including houses, businesses, industrial and agricultural to which specific conditions are attached.
My Department, in the context of the Climate Action Plan and in consultation with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, has undertaken a review of the solar panel planning exemptions set out in the Regulations, with a particular focus on facilitating increased self-generation of electricity. This review is now complete. Substantial changes to the current planning exemption thresholds for solar panels are proposed, as well as the introduction of new classes of solar panel planning exemptions for apartments and educational/community/religious buildings.
The draft regulations have been reviewed under the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) Directive and it has been determined that they are likely to have significant effects on the environment, necessitating the undertaking of a full SEA on the draft proposals. The draft regulations have also been screened for Appropriate Assessment (AA) under the Habitats Directive by my Department’s Ecological Assessment Unit (EAU) and the need for AA has been screened out.
Following the conclusion of the AA process on the draft regulations in April, my Department immediately sought to progress the statutory SEA process. A four week statutory consultation with the environmental authorities on the scope of the SEA Environmental Report commenced on the 28 April 2022 and ran until 27 May 2022.
The SEA Environmental Report is currently being updated and finalised on foot of this consultation. Once finalised, the SEA Environmental Report will be published alongside the draft regulations for a period of public consultation of not less than 4 weeks. This public consultation is expected to launch during the week commencing 13 June 2022. Written submissions or observations will be taken into consideration before the finalisation of the draft regulations.
As required under planning legislation, the proposed exempted development regulations must be laid in draft form before the Houses of the Oireachtas and receive a positive resolution from both Houses before they can be made and the SEA process concluded. Accordingly, the process for finalising the solar panel planning exemptions will be completed in the coming months.
