Reply - Q12 Planning Enforcement

To ask the Chief Executive to outline the process the Council undertakes when a planning enforcement order is issued to an owner of a property or business but the order is ignored.

Planning enforcement is currently legislated under Part VIII of the Planning and Development Act 2000 AS AMENDED ( soon to be replaced by Part 11 of the Planning and Development Act 2024, an Act to consolidate and revise the law relating to planning and development)

The legislation sets time limits within which complaints of planning infringements must be investigated. It establishes a common procedure for all type of planning offence – issue of a Warning Letter, service of an Enforcement Notice and institution of legal proceedings.

Where a warning letter has been issued, the planning authority must carry out an investigation into the alleged unauthorised development. If the planning authority determines that unauthorised development has taken place, it must also determine whether the requirements of the warning letter have been met before taking further action.

The planning authority should, where possible, make its decision on further action within 12 weeks of sending the warning letter. Further action will normally take the form of an enforcement notice requiring the person concerned to rectify the situation.

An enforcement notice will normally request specific action to be taken within a specific period.

On the expiration of a Planning Enforcement Notice issued pursuant to Section 154 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) by the Planning Authority, a Planning Officer will visit the site to confirm whether or not the Enforcement Notice has been adhered too.

If the Enforcement Notice has been adhered to, a planning report is prepared and a Decision Memo signed with recommendation issued for the closing of the file and all parties notified of the decision.

Should the Enforcement Notice be found not to have been complied with, then a planning report is prepared and a Decision Memo signed with a recommendation for prosecution under Section 154(8) of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended).

Legal proceedings should initiate with the registered owner(s) of the property. In the case of a business the Directors may be included in the legal proceedings.