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HOUSING MINISTER DARRAGH O’Brien has published legislation to reform the planning system, with changes to local development plans aimed at dissuading people from taking judicial reviews.
The Planning and Development Bill 2023 will introduce wide ranging reform of the planning system and was approved by Cabinet in late 2022.
Some of these reforms include how judicial reviews are brought, with the bill changing how residents associations can take cases against planning decisions, as well as introducing an extension the time local development plans are in effect.
Under the new bill, resident associations will be required to have a named individual or group of individuals commence a judicial review forward, rather than bringing it forward as a broader residents’ association.
A source said that it was hoped that judicial reviews would be made a “waste of time”.
There will also be timelines set out for the entire judicial review process, from pleading cases to the delivery of a judgement.
Judicial reviews are cases taken by citizens or groups to the High Court. In recent years, such cases have been used to challenge decisions made by An Bord Pleanála on large-scale property developments around the country.
The new bill will also allow for either An Bord Pleanála or local authorities to correct errors of fact or law in their planning decisions and will also allow them to make a stay on the decision of the judicial review while doing so.
There will also be mandatory timelines set on planning decisions by planning boards across the country, with penalties to be put in place if decisions are made late.
Mandatory planning guidance will be issued directly by the Government
The change to local development plans will see their overall lifespan extended from six years to ten years, with the plans set to become more specific on planning matters.
A source said it was hoped that this would mean taking judicial reviews would become a “waste of time”.
The new ten-year plans will also be reviewed in the fifth year.
Currently, local authorities create development plans that map out what individual lands are zoned for, whether that is residential, commercial or industrial.
Under the new plan, development plans will be made more specific in the type of development that will be allowed take place in localities, with more details on the style of development.
This means that areas zoned for residential use may be more specifically labelled to be for low-density or high-density residential development.
Under the bill – which is over 700 pages long - An Bord Pleanála will be reorganised into An Coimisiún Pleanála, following an Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) review in 2022.
This reorganisation will see the separation of both decision-making and the corporate roles, with the introduction of Planning Commissioners and a Governing Executive.
On the decision-making side, there will be 14 Planning Commissioners alongside a Chief Planning Commissioner. These roles will replace the existing chairperson and board member roles.
The Governing Executive will be responsible for the governance of An Coimisiún Pleanála, with a Chief Executive and seven non-executive members.
The restructuring of the planning body comes following on from controversy in 2022 around the body, with Chairperson Dave Walsh opting to retire early in November.
While the bill was agreed at Cabinet late last year, it is understood that there were concerns raised by three Green Party ministers when the legislation was being considered.
In particular, these concerns were flagged over the proposed changes to how judicial reviews will work and whether it will impact on access to justice.
However, Green Party sources have said there will be “extensive” discussions when the legislation goes through pre-legislative scrutiny in the Oireachtas Housing Committee, where issues will be “thrashed out” and solutions found.
The party is understood to believe that the “widest number of people should be allowed to take an appeal if they so wish”.
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Time for the minister to go. You could win money on the time she says “extraordinary times”. Has failed to answer any of the questions tonight.
@Brendan Woods: newly elected and at the top table. This Govt brings Bilko or The Little Rascals to mind.
@Brendan Woods: like all ministers required to cover up for incompetent civil servents
If worst non core subjects were included , surely all students were affected,not just 6,500.
@Leonard O’mahony: Exactly. The media questioning is poor. It doesn’t make sense that it’s only 6500 that had the 2 worse subjects. Also doesn’t make sense that having 2 worse subjects caused any grade increases. There is a lot more to come.
@Leonard O’mahony: the error was about chosing lower junior cert marks! So how many had junior cert? 90% we are being mislead on thus to soften the bow.
@Leonard O’mahony: Only 6,500 reported that something was wrong. Likely though that every result was effected
This is so bad. Poor people distraught. Absolute shambles.
Well folks the reason they would not announce further new restrictions to bring Cork to level 3 has all been laid before us. They are clutching at straws and imagine a parent forking out 3 grand last week so the young fella got a place in Galway and then he finds out that he should have got a place in Cork where he is from . I say no more
@Maurice O Neill: its infuriating
I don’t know if this has been reported as wasnt listeningto radio, but round 2 offers that came out last week, have been put in stasis, for UCD anyway. My niece got a round 2 offer of her first preference, accepted it last week, moved back home from where she had gone to start the 5th pref course (cancelling that in meantime), and is now in limbo as seemingly UCD have told her that they are now not finalising the acceptance until this debacle is resolved. Limbo for her…
@Lisa Daly: University College Limbo!!!! The whole thing us a mess. Do the Department think they are dealing with the future prospects of real human beings?
Sweet Jesus…The circus continues. The part time Taoiseacht Michael Martin must be pondering the old Chinese saying…Be careful what you wish for..While the future part time Taoiseacht Varadkar appoints Jerry Buttimer and other senators who attended golf gate to Oireachtas committes. What a F..king circus.
Right mess!
Mishap?
@Anne Marie Devlin: I see they’ve changed the headline
@Anne Marie Devlin: they’ve changed it three times now
A €15 million howler.
@Mick Whistler: or whistler
All students should receive the result they were entitled to. If you received a higher mark as a result of an error you should not benefit from it as others will lose out. If they succeeded in obtaining a course on the back of it they probably should keep their spot but they should get their CAO points changed for future CAO round offers this year and onwards.
Leonardo da vinci never went to university. It kept him awake at night too.
This is a cluster of cluster fecks, in an ongoing clusterfeck…a tri-cluster feck!
Am I missing something here? How are only 6500 students affected by this coding error? Were the junior cert results of only 6500 students submitted by schools? Surely it should be affecting all students.. Except those who maybe changed school or went to private grind schools where no junior cert results would have been submitted.. I assume? Please feel free to lambaste me if I have missed something obvious!!!
If they knew last week , they should have advised students/parents….. before we paid thousands for accomodation later in the week!
My daughter got 576 knowing she was given clean sweep by her teachers!! Downgraded by two subjects and missed out on her first choice!! The stress is intolerable!
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