Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) has warned that Government proposals to expand exempted development rules could worsen flooding, undermine biodiversity and breach EU and international environmental law.
The FIE claims were made in a submission to the consultation on exempted development regulations, which is being handled by the Department of Housing.
“Planning exemptions must remain strictly consistent with Ireland’s obligations under the Habitats, Birds, Water Framework, Environmental Impact Assessment, and Nature Restoration Directives,” FIE stated.
“Planning oversight must not be removed unless all legal requirements and cumulative environmental impacts are clearly assessed and protected on case-by-case assessments,” it added.
“The exemptions as framed risk weakening Ireland’s climate resilience and biodiversity restoration commitments,” said FIE director Tony Lowes.
Slurry storage
Among the proposals under consideration by the Department of Housing is for a planning exemption for stand-alone slurry storage facilities of up to 1,000 cubic metres on farms with a total maximum capacity of no more than 1,500 cubic metres.
This move is supported by the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA), but both organisations have called for the exemption ceiling to be raised to 1,500 cubic metres.
The IFA and the ICMSA said a major freeing up of the planning regulations around slurry storage was urgently required to enable farmers to build on the recent improvements in water quality.
However, FIE claimed that deregulating development will not remove conflicts - it will only shift them into costly enforcement battles.
“Planning permission is the most efficient way to prevent problems before they arise,” Mr Lowes said.
“Removing oversight means more neighbour disputes, more costs for local authorities and greater risks for households and insurers.”
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