Repeal of Exempted Development Regulations Bill 2026: First Stage

Deputy Eoin Ó Broin

I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to repeal the Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 4) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 605 of 2022) and Planning and Development (Exempted Development) (No. 4) Regulations 2023 (S.I. No. 376 of 2023) related to the provision of temporary accommodation for persons seeking international protection or in receipt of temporary protection.

Exempted development regulations are an important part of our planning system but they should always be the exception and not the rule. They work best when they are for small developments or indeed for developments that are temporary or are required for an emergency. As the Minister of State knows, long-term development requires proper planning, thoughtful consideration by planning professionals and adequate public participation.

In 2022 and 2023, two sets of exempted development regulations were introduced to facilitate the provision of temporary accommodation for people in receipt of temporary protection or seeking international protection. The context, of course, was Russia's completely unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine and the refugee crisis that provoked, as well as an increase in the number of people seeking international protection. There was clearly a rationale at the time for those exempted development regulations.

Notwithstanding that, there was some abuse of those regulations. As the Minister of State will know, in my constituency, despite concerted attempts by South Dublin County Council to make the former SIAC building fire compliant, the owner of that building put the well-being and lives of 186 and international protection recipients at risk by non-compliance with fire safety, ultimately forcing the council to have the building evacuated for it to be remediated. That is a consequence of the improper use of exempted development regulations.

Since then, things have changed. The emergency crisis that was in evidence in 2022 and 2023 is no longer the case. Sinn Féin believes the provision of accommodation for people either in receipt of temporary protection or applying for international protection should be provided by the State in a manner that is cost-effective for the taxpayer and fully compliant with the human rights requirements of the people in that accommodation. Sinn Féin, in particular my colleague Deputy Matt Carthy, has been urging the Government to move away from expensive, inadequate, private temporary accommodation. Certainly, at a rhetorical level, the Government has accepted that.

If we are moving to having private accommodation, it needs to go through the planning process properly. We need to have thoughtful consideration of applications, proper public participation and good-quality developments. In our view the rationale for exempted development regulations from 2022 and 2023 no longer exists. Those regulations need to be repealed and all existing and new centres that are going to be permanent need to go through the proper planning process. On that basis, we tabled the Bill today to achieve that end.

Deputy Matt Carthy

I thank Deputy Ó Broin for his work on this legislation. This Sinn Féin Bill seeks to end the current planning exemption for IPAS and temporary protection accommodation. That exemption has been in place for too long. A standard measure of a democratic system is that communities should have the ability to provide input on planning proposals that affect the area in which they live. Legislation currently allows for IPAS accommodation to be exempt from this minimal public engagement process. We have seen examples where it has led to anger, frustration and even division. It is now time for the exception to end.

Ending the exemption for IPAS accommodation is not just about community input, although that is vital. It is also crucial to ensuring that the accommodation provided is suitable for housing those seeking international protection. We have seen that the exemption has facilitated the use of unsuitable buildings, vacant commercial buildings, old factories and office blocks. Without planning scrutiny, local authorities cannot properly assess the suitability of a site or a building, which is not in anyone's interest. It is a system that has led to bad decisions and community alienation. People continually tell us that they feel they are denied a say.

It has also led to consternation in many cases, where property owners request an exemption for buildings for which they do not have a contract for accommodation and which the Department tells us they have no interest in using. That has put elected representatives and other community leaders in a very difficult position as people are wondering whether it is the request for the exemption or the departmental statements that should be heeded.

It is time for the Government to recognise that it has badly mismanaged the IPAS accommodation system. The failure to do so thus far suggests that previous mistakes are likely to be repeated in the future. That is why it was so worrying that last night the Government and others rejected my amendment to the International Protection Bill that would have ensured that a community impact assessment would be conducted prior to any new IPAS accommodation going ahead. It seems that the Government still has not learned that communities have to be part of the decisions that affect them.

Sinn Féin has been clear that IPAS centres should be placed in areas that are resourced to accommodate them, that community engagement has to be a real and defined concept, and that the private interests of property owners should not be allowed to be prioritised above all other considerations. The first step is to end the planning exemption and to support this Bill.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar fionraí ar 1.29 p.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 2.10 p.m.

Sitting suspended at 1.29 p.m. and resumed at 2.10 p.m.

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 26 Feb 2026