Built your home without planning? EC says knock it down

IRELAND has been told by the European Commission to abolish retrospective planning permissions.

The directive rules out any applicants for retention, under the current process, with the commission demanding that all illegal buildings be demolished.

Loopholes in the planning laws that allow people to seek permission to retain structures, built without planning approval, must be closed, the commission has warned.

Negotiations with the Government to change existing legislation have, so far, failed. The matter is to be referred to the European Court of Justice.

A commission planning expert said that Ireland had not fully conformed to the requirement for a proper impact assessment before granting planning permissions.

Weak enforcement of penalties for illegal constructions are also a problem, the expert claimed.

“Carrying out impact assessments after the development has taken place is not in line with planning directives.

“Neither is the parallel system of enforcement that effectively does no more than allow people to apply for retention. It just leaves a system where people feel it worth their while to take chances.

“All this has left local communities feeling very aggrieved, especially when it comes to developments like quarries,” he said.

The commission’s environment section has been in negotiations with the Government for some time, but the issues are no closer to being resolved.

As a result, a case against Ireland has been prepared and will be lodged with the Court in Luxembourg shortly, a spokesperson said.

The retention loophole is among the issues to be raised by Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas when he visits Dublin later this week.

While Ireland has improved its environmental legislation record, the country still has catching up to do. The nitrates directive was one example where, after years of failing to implement it, agreement was reached last year, but was stalled again by the Government after new scientific evidence became available.

One of the other main issues was Ireland’s failure to designate nature preservation sites. This has led in part to the extinction of the corn bunting, with the great partridge and the corn crake teetering on the brink of survival.