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LAST UPDATE | 9 Oct 2024
THE PLANNING AND Development Bill, which will see a major overhaul of the planning system, has been passed by the Dáil.
At over 900 pages, the bill is the third largest piece of legislation in the history of the State.
When it was first published last year, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien described it as the “cornerstone for Irish planning for the coming decades”.
The Bill was passed by TDs this evening by 72 votes to 60.
It will introduce significant restructuring and resourcing of An Bord Pleanála – which will be renamed An Coimisiún Pleanála.
New timelines measures make up part of the restructures, where applications will range from 18 weeks for appeals to 48 weeks for more complex issues.
And under the new provisions, residents’ associations and local community groups will only be able to take judicial reviews if they have a written constitution and then hold a vote among their members.
Speaking during the debate this evening, Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin accused the Government of showing “contempt for the procedures of the Oireachtas itself” by limiting the discussion to three hours for the lengthy piece of legislation.
He said “complex, technical amendments” to planning legislation “did not get adequate scrutiny or time in the House”, adding: ”This is not a good way to proceed.”
“I cannot for the life of me understand why, given the damage that has been done to our planning system from rushed legislation previously, including some legislation the Minister himself has brought into this House, he would risk making the same mistake again,” Ó Broin said.
He said it was not just Opposition parties who were concerned at the process, adding the Irish Planning Institute, the body which represents planners in Ireland, was also warning against such an approach.
Ó Broin also said it was “an entirely inappropriate way to progress legislation”.
Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan said a three-hour debate for 175 pages of amendments “is absolutely no way to do legislation”.
“These are new amendments that have not been discussed in this Chamber before, have not been scrutinised here, so this is our only attempt to scrutinise them. Most of them will not be reached at all today,” he said.
“That is very worrying, given the track record in respect of planning legislation, where we have repeatedly had mistakes made that the Department and the Minister have then had to come back trying to fix with subsequent legislation.”
But Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien dismissed any suggestion that the legislation had been rushed, deeming it “completely and utterly incorrect”.
He said the legislation dates back to September 2021 and at committee stage, had seen 115 hours of debate on 1,200 amendments, with 320 divisions called.
🚨📢 The Planning & Development Bill just passed through the Dáil!
— Darragh O'Brien (@DarraghOBrienTD) October 9, 2024
🏛️ This is the 3rd-largest piece of legislation in Irish history, set to transform our planning system for good.
🏡@fiannafailparty promised a planning system to match our housing ambitions. This Bill delivers! pic.twitter.com/m903Q9Wy2b
During Leaders’ Questions earlier this afternoon, Labour leader Ivana Bacik accused the Government of attempting to “ram” the legislation through the Oireachtas and claimed that opposition politicians have not had enough time to debate.
Bacik said the legislation was “developer-led” and claimed the new bill damage existing planning procedures in Ireland.
Speaking in Washington this afternoon, Taoiseach Simon Harris claimed none of the provisions in the new legislation are different to what is included in existing legislation, meaning no new procedures in the planning application process will be introduced.
The Bill also designates liquified natural gas (LNG) facilities as “strategic infrastructure”.
Environmental group Friends of the Earth had called on TDs to vote against the Bill, saying it “fast-tracks gas imports”. The group also called for LNG to be removed from the Bill.
In a poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth, and carried out by Ireland Thinks, 55% of respondents said Ireland should not build a terminal to import fracked gas from the US.
Some 27% said Ireland should build a terminal to import fracked gas, while 18% were unsure.
Friends of the Earth’s chief executive Oisín Coghlan said the said the Green Party has “either took their eye off the ball with the Planning Bill or they don’t mind that the risk of new fossil fuel import terminals”.
Coghlan said “the Greens went into Government saying they would stand firmly against the importation of fracked gas”.
But he said the Planning Bill “seems set to undermine that significantly, and risks putting their legacy in Government in grave risk and in tatters”.
“You don’t legally designate something you oppose, or aren’t sure we need, as strategic,” added Coghlan. “The contradiction is so absurd it feels like the Government is gaslighting us.”
Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo also chimed into the debate, accusing the Green Party of trying to “jam through a bill to fast track building LNG terminals that would import fracked gas from the United States” and claimed this contradicted promises the party made to voters to stop the importation of fracked gas.
A protest took place at noon today calling on the Government to “change policy on building of LNG terminals”, with a particular focus on the Shannon LNG.
Last week, the High Court overturned a decision by An Bord Pleanála to deny permission for the construction of the Shannon liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in north Kerry.
The plans can now be resubmitted to An Bord Pleanála.
With reporting from Jane Moore
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and What about the people that are serial objectors on everything and anything?? and then look for “hush money” to drop their objections…..
@Tommy: like the FG woman from louth who was going to contest the recent local elections before she got exposed?
@Tommy: the only observation taken into account by the planning authority are the ones with genuine concerns, which are usually forwarded to the client to respond to in a further information request. Frivolous and vexatious observations get nowhere. This bill could prevent people taking a judicial review just to prolong the process, which is a positive.
@Eoin .h: sometimes objectors force planners to do their job, or sway them in a certain direction .
@Tommy: what about politicians who receive brown envelopes. What about TDs in cahoots with developers.
Are you saying nobody should have a say in their community except for vulture funds etc
@Tommy: The 900 page legislation must be read and enquired to ensure your legitimate question is answered. The whole point of changing this legislation is to stop single people objecting to projects, either one person living in the vicinity or serial objectors with properties in the vicinity.
There should be no full planning as such for certain developments. My parents wanted to build an extra 6 feet out side permitted development rights so needed planning our neighbours either side where fine but the one 3 doors down objected they realy went to town on my parents citing every section of the planing laws. It took 5 years for my parents to get the permission.
There should be only full planning for large developments and with smaller ones consent from properties you share a boundary with & they must give valid genuine reasons for objecting and if successful these conditions will be attached to their tiled deed meaning there property can never be extended.
And simpler planning for one off housing.
@Be Lucky: Every time I see houses or apartments actually being built I get a great feeling that the Trotsky left are failing to create failure to fit their left wing playbook.
There’ll be holes in it you can drive a coach and four through, that’s how the Irish do legislation!
@Chutes: actually it’s not. We have a very solid constitution and a strong legislative framework. Our problem is the legal profession. And enforcement.
FG, the never-ending promises
If this bill makes it more difficult for individuals who have “genuine concerns” about planning, it should not be passed.
Unfortunately rushed! Need to stop 3rd party appeals on residential development where there’s no material contravention on the development plan. Will boost investment and increase supply
@John Lee: Yeah cause that wouldn’t be open to corruption at all in the gold rush to slap together 10s of thousands of houses. You obviously didn’t read the findings of the Mahon Tribunal.. “It continued because nobody was prepared to do enough to stop it. This is perhaps inevitable when corruption ceases to become an isolated event and becomes so entrenched that it is transformed into an acknowledged way of doing business. Specifically, because corruption affected every level of Irish political life, those with the power to stop it were frequently implicated in it.” And they’re still in power.. passing planning legislation and about to over see the largest construction of houses in the country. Sure what could possibly go wrong.. depressing stuff.
@Brian:
Ireland is in the top fifteen LEAST corrupt counties in the world.
Might want to limit your time on social media. as it can distort reality
@Brian: Maybe understand the facts of planning – it’s very difficult to increase the amount of units on a site without a material contravention! If a mat con occurs then a 3rd party can appeal
@H Woo: LOL.. So you keep saying, do they include things such as changing the law to call yourself a charity to raise funds to pay off your debts a la FF only 2 years ago in the criteria for their table?
You might want to read a few tribunal reports into corruption in this country.. ya know factual evidence.. you’re sadly lacking in information and intellect.. as evidenced by your constant repetitive drive..
@Brian: * drivel..
@Brian:
FF could alway do what ShinFein did, register themselfs as a British political party in order to get around the Irish laws governing donations from foriegn players.
@Brian:
Facts getting in the way of your agenda then?
@H Woo: tut tut tut.. more waffle. You talk about facts but conveniently ignore the facts of the Mahon tribunal. You talk about facts whilst conveniently ignoring that FF registered itself as a CHARITY to clear its debts..
You can waffle on about SF ad nauseam lad.. they’re not in government.. and are not responsible for the housing/homeless crisis in this country. FFG are, and you’re incapable of staying on topic.
Nor does it change the fact that the state is about to undertake the biggest construction of homes in its history under political parties who have proven themselves incapable for over a century of governance in this country of not engaging in corrupt practices.
You keep being a FFG shill.. and I’ll keep pointing out the facts to you.. good lad yourself.
@Brian: I think you should lookup the definition of fact
The article makes a lot of the fracked gas element but if it speeds up the planning process for housing then it’s a good thing.
Also, it just states liquified gas as strategic infrastructure: it doesn’t say that we have import fracked gas from the U.S. Unless all liquefied gas in fracked?
@Shaner Mac: about 87% of LNG from the US is from fracking.
If this legislation passes, it will make it easier for a terminal to be built here and risks undermining our own ban on fracking.
I guess the risks to health, water and land don’t matter if it’s out of sight to us here
@Hayagriva:
What America do about freaking is their business.
As long as we get it from them as cheaply as possable.
@Hayagriva: Again, doesn’t oblige us to import fracked gas from the U.S. We can import none fracked gas from elsewhere, unless I’m missing something?
@Hayagriva:
Fracking is banned in Ireland as is nuclear power stations. But we can still import electricity generated from foreign nuclear power stations.
Irish solutions to Irish problems.
@Shaner Mac: LNG usage produces about 50% of the pollutants that oil does. It baffles me why the Greens are holding up the conversion of the idle plant at Whitty Island to store LNG. Meanwhile, oil is being imported and burned.
Copy and paste article from rte news
@David Barry: It’s not but in any case, there’s only so many ways one can report a news story.
@Jack Hayes: didn’t ed sheeran use that defence?
The well to do friends of the earth with their own gaffs need to do one.
That developers money was accidentaly lodged into his wife’s personal bank account!
The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee last week informed the Department of the Environment that, in terms of how it allows for public oversight of the extension of planning permissions, Ireland’s new 800-page planning bill fails to rectify the fact that Irish planning law is out of step with the convention.
The 1998 UN convention, of which Ireland is a signatory, aims to defend the right of public participation in legislative matters and the right of access to justice — such as judicial review.
@North Phone Bowe: While the committee informed Environment Minister Eamon Ryan that the new bill is out of step with the convention, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien insisted that the bill is “unquestionably” in compliance with the convention during a Dáil debate 24 hours later
Who believes O’Brien????
Brown envelopes are back baby!! #fiannafail
It’s not envelopes any more it’s suitcases and sometimes 40 foot containers with human cargo back hand in your pocket, the job is oxo.
Why do they call it UN when the world is a divided entity, all the countries that are in the UN seem to be the one who are causing all the pain and suffering, just buut them out.
Why do we have to wait until the closing stages of this Dáil for anything to be done? This is pure electioneering and we can’t fall for it. For the sake of your children, please do not vote the current clowns back in. Don’t fall for the old faithful, giveaway budgets. This is the same government that managed a €1.5 billion overspend on the National children’s hospital and it’s not finished yet. They, without oversight, spent €350,000 on a bike shed and nobody has taken responsibility for the debacle. Paschal Donoghue was just rolled out as a semi scape goat but we won’t ask for his head, he’s turned the economy around twice in the last 9 years apparently. Nothing to do with failed austerity measurements that crippled the young, old and poor in our society.
The Clown in the Senate yesterday, declaring they weren’t the spy & then making an ejit of themselves on TV last night, the Russians were gathering Intelligence, so this Clown would be the last person they would try & recruit.
have your say