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Irish Independent
30-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Councillors call for review of planning ‘loophole' after leaked file indicates IPAS development for Mayo town
The motion, tabled by Cllr Deirdre Lawless at the council's monthly meeting, was brought forward after a leaked document suggested the property, which had been promised to reopen as a four-star hotel, had been earmarked for use as an International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) centre. Cllr Lawless told colleagues that a time bound agreement had been in place between the building's owner and Mayo County Council to house those seeking international protection. She asked if this arrangement was now 'null and void'. Director of Services Tom Gilligan confirmed that no such agreement exists. 'I know that the owners had initially looked in relation to using the hotel for it,' he said, 'but they are committed, as far as I'm aware at this stage, to turn it into a hotel for local tourism.' Despite that assurance, councillors raised broader concerns about how developers can change a building's use, through section five of the Planning and Development Act 2000, in turn avoiding the full planning permission process. Section five allows individuals or developers to seek a formal declaration from their local planning authority to determine whether a proposed development qualifies as exempt under certain criteria. If deemed exempt, the development can proceed without requiring formal planning permission. Unlike ordinary planning applications, which involve public notices and opportunities for residents to object or appeal, section five exemptions are made internally by planning authorities and do not require full permission. Cllr Lawless criticised the system: 'The ordinary person must apply through the planning system for planning permission, it can be really lengthy and very costly on the individual, on families and on couples. Yet these property developers and business owners, many of them registered outside of the state, they're not in county Mayo, can bypass our planning laws.' She told the council about planning company Forbairt Órga Teoranta Ltd , stating that it had received €19.5 Million from the Department of Integration to house those seeking international protection since mid 2022. According to Cllr Lawless, the company has also submitted section five applications for developments in Ballina, Ballyhaunis, and is applying for another in Killala. 'These companies are making millions off the taxpayer, and the taxpayer is being treated like a mushroom, we are being kept in the dark,' she said. Cllr Marie Thérese Duffy stated that section five exemption loopholes need to be reviewed nationally: 'There's a lot of profiteering happening all over Ireland and there's a lack of information within communities around our country and there's a lot of anger too.' A motion to revoke section five was raised last year by Deputy Paul Lawless, who was a councillor in Mayo at the time. Mayo County Council wrote to the Minister for Housing but but Cllr Lawless told the Irish Independent that no reply was received. Director of Services for Planning, Catherine McConnell, clarified that a section five is a declaration, not a permission. 'We receive section five declarations for a wide variety of developments or uses. In the case we are talking about here, applications are for the use of the building. 'Could this building, if used for this purpose, be exempt' - That's what they are asking, it's not granting permission for anything, it does not confer any authority to use it. It still goes back to the department to decide its use,' she explained. If a section five is granted, the final decision on whether a property can be used for certain purposes, like an IPAS centre, remains with the International Protection Office within the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, not the local council. The Irish Independent contacted the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration in relation to the development in Knock. They responded saying: 'The Department has not received an offer of international protection accommodation at this location and is not considering it for use.' The building in Knock is confirmed for restoration as a four-star tourist hotel, but councillors want written confirmation from the Minister to prevent any future reconsideration of the site for asylum accommodation. Speaking to the Irish Independent, Cllr Lawless said there had been no response from the Minister yet, she called for an end to planning circumvention and for community engagement to be key to all planning permission applications. 'Individuals must apply through the planning system and are subject to serious scrutiny, often being rejected planning permission over small details. Meanwhile, property developers can completely change the demographic and population of a village or town overnight and do not have to notify the public. This is wrong and unjust. This government needs to close this loophole immediately and create a system that is equal and fair to all citizens of the land.'
Irish Independent
17-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Proposal to re-zone land around controversial Tipperary hotel could stop IPAS centre plans
At the July meeting of Tipperary County Council, councillors Liam Browne and Mary Hanna Hourigan tabled a notice of motion that the local authority consider a variation of the county development plan to extend the borders of the village of Dundrum to include Dundrum House Hotel and the land around it. The county Tipperary hotel has been the subject of controversy since it was announced that International Protection Applicants would be housed there, despite planning and infrastructure issues at the site. Last month, Tipperary County Council announced that they would not contest a judicial review of the Dundrum House Section 5 declaration. A Section 5 declaration under the Planning and Development Act 2000 is a direction issued by a planning authority determining that a specific development may be considered 'exempted development' and therefore does not require certain planning permissions. At the July plenary meeting, Cllrs Browne and Hourigan tabled the motion to extend the village boundaries to include the historic hotel, and that the land it sits on be zoned for tourism and leisure, as well as amenity and conservation. It is believed that Government plans to use the site as a 'super IPAS centre' similar to the Citywest Hotel in Dublin are being examined, and that the proposed boundary and zoning change at Dundrum would prevent this from happening. If the land was successfully re-zoned, it would then be illegal to house IPAS clients at Dundrum House Hotel. 31 councillors at the county council meeting voted to support the motion, which will now see a management report drawn up on how the boundary changes might be carried out. It emerged earlier this year that a contract had been signed to house 277 IPAS clients at the hotel, prompting local protests outside the hotel's gates. The contract had been awarded to a company called Utmasta Limited, a newly formed private company incorporated in Spain in January of this year. The company lists a single director, Ms Ana Maria Fernandez Sanchez, and had a declared capital of just €120.
Irish Examiner
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Cork County Council is only local authority without language policy for Gaeltacht housing
Calls have been made to amend the County Development Plan to ensure Irish speakers are allocated a guaranteed percentage of new council and private houses that are built in the region's Gaeltacht areas. Cork County Council is currently the only local authority in the country which to date has not adopted such a policy in its planning conditions, despite the fact that an act was passed 25 years ago which allows councils with Gaeltacht areas to do this. The issue was raised at a meeting in County Hall by Fianna Fáil councillor Gobnait Moynihan, a fluent Irish speaker who lives in the Mhuscraí Gaeltacht. That area encompasses a number of small villages in the Mid-Cork region such as Cùil Aodha, Baile Mhuirne, Cill na Martra, Réidh na nDoirì and Béal Àtha nGhaothaidh. The other Gaeltacht area in the county is Oileàn Cléire off the West Cork coast. Ms Moynihan said the council is planning to build some houses in Baile Mhuirne and it should reserve a percentage of these for those who speak Irish on a daily basis. Ms Moynihan said the Planning and Development Act 2000 gave councils the green light to place language conditions on housing developments in Gaeltacht areas. 'All other councils with a Gaeltacht area are tackling this issue, except for Cork County Council. Take Donegal County Council, for example, where any housing development must have a minimum of 85% of the units allocated to Irish speakers,' she said. A Gaeltacht only exists because a percentage of people in the particular area speak Irish daily. The Gaeltacht status could be lost quickly if the level of daily Irish language speakers falls. "We know from the last census that there was a 2.4% drop of daily Irish speakers in the (Mhuscraí Gaeltacht) location already. For this reason the language conditions on such a housing development is paramount in preserving the Gaeltacht and for the growth of the language. At least other councils are tackling the issue, but to date Cork County Council is not,' Ms Moynihan said. Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy said it was unfortunate that Cork County Council appeared to be the only local authority which hadn't adopted the terms of the 2000 Act, while fluent Irish speaker Fianna Fáil councillor Gillian Coughlan also voiced her support. Mid-Cork based Fine Gael councillor Michael Creed also said there has to be a commitment from the council to provide houses for Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas. Council chief executive Moira Murrell said that a review is to take place shortly of the current County Development Plan and officials will give consideration to what the councillors had asked for when this happens.
Dublin Live
21-06-2025
- Business
- Dublin Live
Dublin Airport hit with enforcement notice over passenger cap breaches
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info Dublin Airport has blasted Ireland's "broken" planning system after it was hit with a two-year enforcement order for breaching its passenger cap. Airport operators daa say they have been waiting for a decision on both its infrastructure and operational applications - both of which would remove the current 32 million passenger cap - from An Bord Pleanala for five years. A spokesperson for daa has called for the removal of the passenger cap and an "urgent" overhaul of the current planning system. He said: "The fact that Fingal County Council is sending us an enforcement notice regarding 32 million passengers when passenger numbers will be north of 36 million this year and heading towards 40 million before the end of the decade is a sorry indictment of the mess that is the Irish planning system, particularly when it comes to the most vital piece of transport infrastructure on this island. The system is quite simply broken and needs to be overhauled urgently. "Until that happens our national airport is hamstrung and can't get on with its mandate to grow Ireland's connectivity. The passenger cap on Dublin Airport needs to be removed once and for all and the airport needs to be reclassified as national strategic infrastructure, with decisions made by a national planning body and not a local authority." DAA submitted a non-build application to the local authority in January which would allow it increase passenger capacity to 36 million. However, Fingal County Council declared this submission invalid and issued a request for further information which daa objected to. The council said the enforcement order issued today was in response to complaints received that the conditions were breached in 2023 and 2024. A spokesperson for the council said: 'The two-year period provides an opportunity for daa to progress their planning applications to increase passenger capacity at Dublin Airport or take such other steps as they consider appropriate to achieve compliance.' A Warning Letter was issued to daa providing them with an opportunity to respond. The airport operators responded to this letter but council officials said while it acknowledges the complexities presented it "does not constitute sufficient grounds to prevent further action" The council added: "The investigation has determined that a breach of the relevant planning conditions has occurred and remains ongoing. Fingal County Council, in accordance with its legal obligations as the Planning Authority, has issued an Enforcement Notice under Section 154 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. DAA has been given two years to bring its operations into compliance." Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Agriland
20-06-2025
- Business
- Agriland
DAA issued with enforcement notice over passenger cap breach
Fingal County Council has issued an enforcement notice to Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) requiring the authority to comply with planning conditions relating to a 'passenger cap' at Dublin Airport. The local authority has written to DAA over what it said was a breach of planning conditions imposed by An Bord Pleanála. The Dublin Airport passenger cap has proved controversial, with aviation sector stakeholders wanting to see the cap increased or removed altogether, and DAA applying to have the cap increased by 8 million people, or 25% higher than its current figure of 32 million. However, many environmental stakeholders, as well as farm organisations, have suggested that this would not be in line with environmental targets, with the farm organisation believing the move would be unfair given the climate-related restrictions on farming. A spokesperson for Fingal County Council said today (Friday, June 20): 'The two-year period provides an opportunity for DAA to progress its planning applications to increase passenger capacity at Dublin Airport, or take such other steps as they consider appropriate to achieve compliance.' The conditions were attached to planning permissions granted in 2008 for the construction of Terminal 2 and the extension of Terminal 1, and 'clearly stated' that the combined capacity of both terminals must not exceed 32 million passengers per annum. In response to complaints received alleging that the conditions were breached in 2023 and 2024, Fingal County Council, as the relevant planning authority, initiated a formal investigation to assess compliance with the conditions. A warning letter was issued to DAA, providing them with an opportunity to respond, which they did. Fingal County Council said it acknowledges the 'operational complexities', but that information provided by DAA does not constitute sufficient grounds to prevent further action. The investigation has determined that a breach of relevant planning conditions has occurred and remains ongoing. The county council said that, in accordance with its legal obligations as the planning authority, it issued an enforcement notice under section 154 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. DAA has been given two years to bring its operations into compliance. Passenger cap controversy The efforts to increase the Dublin Airport passenger cap has proven controversial with the farming community and farmer representatives. In early 2024, the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA), as part of a wider nationwide campaign of protests known as 'Enough is Enough', protested against the proposed increase. Speaking at a protest in February 2024 at Cork Airport (which is also run by DAA), Cork Central IFA chairperson Mathew Hurley said the aim of the protest was to highlight 'the unfairness' of Dublin Airport seeking to grow passenger numbers by 25%, while farmers must cut their emissions by the same amount. Also in early 2024, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association (ICMSA) said that any suggestion of lifting the cap on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport without referencing increased emissions would be 'surreal'. ICMSA president Denis Drennan said at the time that farmers, and the country's multi-billion euro dairy processing sector, will be closely watching the government's reaction to the 'campaign' to increase passenger numbers at Dublin Airport.
