I move amendment No. 5: In page 4, line 33, after “land” to insert the following: “for a related purpose where such development has a commercial value of not greater than €5,480,000 million,”.

This seeks to add the condition that, where a person applies for substitute consent for the land subject to the application, the development cannot have a commercial value of more than €5.48 million. This is to stop scenarios where large development projects are rammed through the planning process and are not subject to strict criteria. Amendment No. 7 is similar, in that it seeks to add a condition that, where a person applies for substitute consent in respect of land adjoining a development, it will not be grante…

I move amendment No. 7: In page 4, to delete lines 35 and 36 and substitute the following: “(b) development of land adjoining the land, for a related purpose to the subject of the application for substitute consent, where such a development does not have a commercial value of greater than €5,480,000.”,”.

I move amendment No. 8: In page 5, lines 1 and 2, to delete “is not required to be the same as, or of the same description as,” and substitute “must be related to”.

I move amendment No. 9: In page 5, lines 10 to 12, to delete all words from and including “be” in line 10 down to and including line 12 and substitute “not be made under subsection (1) as substituted by that section 5.”,”.

This seeks to amend the new subsection (5) being inserted into section 37L by removing the provision whereby an application for substitute consent made prior to the coming into operation of this section but on which a decision has not been made may be able to seek substitute consent under subsection (1). We have a number of concerns about this section. It is not appropriate that applications already under way would be subject to this new regime, in respect of which there are serious questions over due process and a…

I move amendment No. 11: In page 6, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: “(a) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (13): “(14) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a development with a commercial value in excess of €5,480,000 million.”.”.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 8, line 5, after “177K(1J)” to insert the following: “and shall ensure consistency with the legal requirement that regularisation shall not offer applicants concerned the opportunity to circumvent Community rules or to dispense with applying them, and does not have the effect of encouraging developers to forego ascertaining whether a development satisfies the criteria of Article 2(1) of Directive 85/337 as amended”.

This seeks to address a core concern with the legislation by adding the stipulation that the definition of "exceptional circumstances" should "ensure consistency with the legal requirement that regularisation shall not offer applicants concerned the opportunity to circumvent Community rules" and should not have the effect of encouraging developers to forgo checks on whether a development "satisfies the criteria of Article 2(1) of Directive 85/337". This language mirrors the judgment in case C-215/06 and goes to the…

Yes.

I move amendment No. 13: In page 13, to delete line 34.

Amendment No. 13 seeks to delete the repeal of section 177B of the 2000 Act. This section gives power to local authorities to give notice of direction to developments to apply for substitute consent. Its repeal is a regressive step and removes local authorities from this part of the planning process. It marks another point where we are disempowering our local authorities and removing local community representatives from the planning process. I do not think we have received an adequate explanation as to why the sect…

Yes.

I move amendment No. 14: In page 14, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Report on substitute consent 23. The Minister shall, within 18 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining— (a) the number of applications for substitute consent received since this section was commenced and the number granted which were granted, and (b) the mechanisms employed by the Board to determine compatibility of decisions on application with rulings of the Court of Justi…

Amendment No. 14 seeks to ensure that within 18 months of the passing of the legislation, the Minister will lay a report before the Oireachtas outlining the number of applications for substitute consent received since the section commenced and the number of applications which were granted, and "the mechanisms employed by the board to determine compatibility of decisions on application with rulings of the ECJ regarding exceptionality in respect of the granting of substitute consent". The amendment seeks to ensure tr…

Yes.

I move amendment No. 15: In page 14, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: “Report local authority powers in respect of substitute consent 23. The Minister shall, within 18 months of the passing of this Act, lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas outlining the implications or impact of this legislation in respect of the powers of local authorities with regard to the substitute consent process and the way in which the process impacts on the policies and objectives contained within each local a…

Amendment No. 15 seeks to ensure that within 18 months of the passing of the Act, the Minister lays a report before the Houses on the impact of the "legislation in respect of the powers of local authorities with regard to the substitute consent process and the way in which the process impacts on the policies and objectives contained within each local authority’s Local Development Plan". As I mentioned earlier, this Bill removes local authorities entirely from the process and is a regressive step, particularly at a …

I move amendment No. 16: In page 14, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: "Review of Act 23. The Minister shall, within 18 months of the passing of this Act, review the operation of this Act and in such a review shall seeks the views of city and county councillors and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage and upon completion of the review shall lay it before both Houses of the Oireachtas.". This amendment seeks a review within 18 months of the operation of this Bill w…

I join others in congratulating the Minister on her great news and wish her and her family well. I welcome this motion to opt in to the EU proposal for a directive on combatting violence against women and domestic violence and say "well done" to the Minister for all the great work she has done on the issue. Domestic violence is an absolute scourge and one that has certainly intensified during the pandemic. There was a 43% increase in calls to Women's Aid from 2019 to 2020. The increased time spent at home was a bur…