154. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if his Department has undertaken any assessment of the legislative changes required to support meaningful enforcement of principal primary residence use in Gaeltacht areas. [37975/26]

As set out in Delivering Homes, Building Communities, my Department will publish a National Planning Statement to provide planning policy and guidance in respect of housing in Gaeltacht areas.

Government intends to address planning policy regarding Rural and Gaeltacht housing together, given the key interactions between rural housing generally and housing in Gaeltacht areas and is currently considering how that may best be achieved with the express aim to do so before the end of the year.

There is also an important role for the relevant policy Department in collaborating with my Department on the development of National Planning Statements. In this regard, an Interdepartmental Group, comprising my Department, the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG) as the relevant policy Department for this area and Údarás na Gaeltachta is continuing its work in developing specific planning guidance for Gaeltacht areas. There is also a separate Working Group made up of both Departments and Údarás na Gaeltachta and the relevant local authorities with Gaeltacht areas.

Having regard to the need to consider the complex matters involved and further to engagement with the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, a finalised draft National Planning Statement will be assessed for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA).

Under Section 25 of the 2024 Act, draft National Planning Statements are subject to approval by Government prior to issue by the Minister. The 2024 Act sets out the requirement for development plans to be reviewed for material consistency with the National Planning Policies and Measures included in a National Planning Statement, and regard to any guidance included in such a Statement, with plans updated where required to achieve consistency of approach.

When considering applications for permission for dwellings in rural and Gaeltacht areas, planning authorities must have regard to national policy, including the National Planning Framework, any relevant Ministerial Planning Guidelines or National Planning Statements, and the development plan in place for the relevant local authority area.

Where appropriate and necessary, Sections 39 and 47 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which currently provides the statutory framework for decision making on applications for permission, enables a planning authority to attach conditions to a grant of permission to regulate the use of a structure, and to enter a legally binding agreement with an applicant to regulate or restrict the first occupancy of a new dwelling to a person or persons of a particular class or description (including as a principal primary residence). This approach will continue to be facilitated under Section 257 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 upon commencement of Part 4 of the new Act and furthermore, Section 257 (3) of the 2024 Act will enable the planning authority to enforce such restrictions in a similar manner to enforcement arrangements under the Act of 2000.