715. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage whether planning permission can be extended where the construction company needs a short period of extension to complete projects, where the project is underway but planning permission may be due to expire before completion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39903/26]

Under section 40 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (Act of 2000), the default duration, or “appropriate period”, of planning permission is five years. Section 41 of the Act off 2000 provides that a planning authority or the Commission may, having regard to the nature and extent of the development and any other material consideration, to specify an appropriate period of not less than 2 years, and in the case of residential development, not more than 10 years.

By way of an application made by the holder of a planning permission, section 42 of the Act of 2000 allows a planning authority to extend the appropriate period of the permission by such additional period (not exceeding 5 years) as that authority considers necessary to enable the development to be completed. Such an extension is subject to the planning authority being satisfied that the development was commenced before the expiration of the permission, that substantial works have been carried out, that the development will be completed in a reasonable time, and that an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and an appropriate assessment (AA) would not be required for the proposed extension. An extension under section 42 may not be made more than twice, and where a second extension is made, the combined duration of the two extensions cannot exceed 5 years.

It is a matter for the relevant planning authority to determine, on a case by case basis, whether the conditions for extending the duration of a permission are satisfied.

When brought into operation, Chapter 5 of Part 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 (Act of 2024) will provide a new procedure for alterations of a planning permission and/or extensions to the duration of a permission. It is important to note that for a 3-year period (that commenced on the enactment of the Act of 2024 on 17 October 2024) a transitional provision at section 140(14) of the Act of 2024 allows section 42 of the Act of 2000 to continue to apply, notwithstanding its repeal, with respect to a permission granted under the Act of 2000 or a permission granted under section 9 of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. This is to give certainty and clarity to holders of planning permissions regarding how an application for an extension of duration is dealt with during the transition of the planning system from the Act of 2000 to the Act of 2024.