Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2026: Committee and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-14
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Alice-Mary Higgins (IND), National University of Ireland

That is reassuring to a degree but I still have concerns, which I ask the Minister of State to address. Appeals and the non-application to appeals are specified in section 3, whereas for the other measures the Minister of State is describing, we are relying on the Interpretation Act. He might clarify why it was specified in section 3(2) in relation to an appeal but not similarly specified in relation to the issuance of fines or the liability for fines.
Where a property has been placed on the vacant property register and the owner has moneys that would be due, will that apply or will it only apply if the request for payment has already been made? Does the Minister of State know what I mean? If so, I would like him to clarify that. Where someone currently has a liability, will that person still have a liability following the repeal or is it only where a request for payment has been made by the local authority? If the latter is the case, it would perhaps be useful to give proper notice to the local authorities before commencing the Act to ensure they act on all those moneys.
We know dereliction is a disgrace and that vacancy is a profitable practice for many developers and speculators. In fact, it has been profitable at a pace that has outstripped even the 7% that was not being claimed and that certainly may outstrip the 3% to which we are returning. I would like the Minister of State to address that move from 7% to 3% and the fact of the non-continuing availability. What transparency will the public have? Currently, members of the public can check whether properties they view to be derelict or vacant are included on the vacant sites register. What equivalent powers will the public have in terms of both raising concerns and transparency?

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-14/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:15+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-14