New laws introduced to reduce planning delays

New fast-track planning laws have been published in a bid to avoid significant delays.

Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy yesterday published the updated guidelines for planning authorities and An Bord

Pleanála on carrying out environmental impact assessments (EIAs).

The move is to implement EU laws within Ireland and among the key amendments to EIA procedures is reducing

administrative burdens through the use of joint or co-ordinated policies. It has been viewed by some as a way of seeking to avoid a repeat of the Apple fiasco in Athenry.

In May, the tech giant decided to axe its plan to build an €850m data centre in Galway after substantial delays were caused by objections.

The rules broaden the range of environmental factors to be considered in assessments. These include population and human health, resource efficiency, climate change, biodiversity and disaster prevention.

Decisions of planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála on development proposals must now include a reasoned conclusion on the significant effects of the project on the environment, the minister said.

Requirements to put arrangements in place to avoid, prevent, or reduce and, if possible, offset significant

adverse effects of a proposed development on the environment, including monitoring of these, where

appropriate, also form part of the new rules.

Mr Murphy said: “The new EIA regulations and associated guidelines aim to ensure compliance with the

highest international standards in relation to taking environmental factors into account when determining

development proposals and ensuring that environmental considerations are fully addressed as part of the planning process, as well as properly managed thereafter.

The new guidelines offer practical guidance on procedural issues and the changes to the EIA process arising from the new 2014 directive, with the overall aim of ensuring a more consistent approach to in the implementation of the directive within the planning system in Ireland.

Business, Enterprise and Innovation Minister Heather Humphreys expressed disappointment at the decision by Apple to scrap the data centre saying the delays the project faced have “if nothing else, underlined our need to make the

State’s planning and legal processes more efficient”.

Announcing its decision to axe the plan, Apple said: “Several years ago we applied to build a data centre at Athenry. Despite our best efforts, delays in the approval process have forced us to make other plans and we will not be able to move forward with the data centre.”