COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, July 10, 2023

QUESTION NO. 28

QUESTION: Councillor F. Timmons

To ask the Chief Executive for a report into the Planning and Development Act (as amended), 2000. Report to confirm what stage in Dail Eireann is the review and to explain why this affects SDCC's instigation of Tree Protection Orders.

REPLY:

The Draft Planning and Development Bill 2022 was published on 26 January 2023, following a 15-month review and consolidation of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (the 2000 Act) which was led by the Office of the Attorney General in collaboration with the relevant Minister. This review reflects a commitment by Government as set out in Housing for All to streamline, reform and review Ireland’s planning legislation, so that it is well-resourced, plan-led and fit for purpose for the future. Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Draft Planning and Development Bill 2022 by the Joint Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage was carried out in April 2023.

In relation to Tree Preservation Orders (TPO), SDCC currently considers a TPO request in the context of Section 205 of the current Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended). Section 205(1) states that ‘if it appears to the planning authority that it is expedient, in the interests of amenity or the environment, to make provision for the preservation of any tree, trees, group of trees or woodlands, it may, for that purpose and for stated reasons, make an order with respect to any such tree, trees, group of trees or woodlands as may be specified in the order.’
If the Tree Preservation Order legislation is changed as part of an enacted new planning act, SDCC will consider TPOs in that new legislative context.