Govt to remove environmental screening for developments

The Coalition is expected to remove the need for environmental assessments for housing developments of up to 250 units by the end of the month in a bid to speed up house building.

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) examines the effects, if any, which a proposed development, if carried out, would have on the environment.

A developer must complete the assessment before being granted planning permission.

However, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing with responsibility for Planning John Cummins intends to cut the need for the assessment for certain developments, citing the need to speed up delivery and reduce costs.

It is understood the changes will also apply to key infrastructure projects serving housing developments, such as the building of wastewater treatment plants and the erection of overhead cables.

A spokeswoman for Mr Cumminis confirmed the move after an initial report in today's Business Post, saying the "changes are at an advanced stage and are expected to come into effect at the end of the month".

"This will provide clarity and cut red tape", they added.

However, the plans have prompted concern on the Opposition benches with Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin claiming the move gives him a sense of "deja vu of the days of light touch regulation".

The new regime will take what officials are dubbing a "traffic light approach", with no environmental screening required for projects up to 250 housing units, basic screening for developments up to 750 units while a full EIA will only be required for developments above 750 units.

Under the traffic light system, green will mean no EIA screening is required (which is the exclusion threshold). Amber will mean EIA screening is required and Red will mean a full EIA is required.

It is also understood that exclusion thresholds will also be introduced for the transmission of electrical energy by overhead cables, private roads and wastewater treatment plants for projects serving populations below 10,000 people.

This is expected to cut the time involved for Uisce Eireann to deliver projects in towns and villages across the country.

A Government source outlined a view that "the thresholds at which EIA screening was required was too low and the goal of these changes is to introduce an exclusion threshold for the first time.

The source said this would be "saving time and money for prospective housing projects".

"It should be noted that environmental screening is undertaken by Local Authorities in the context of zoning land for residential use in the first instance, so it is viewed that unnecessary duplication was occurring," the source said.

"We need to deliver housing and critical infrastructure more quickly through efficient processes and introducing new exclusion thresholds will do that," added the source, noting how the plans align Ireland more closely with the approach taken by other EU Member States.

However, Deputy Ó Broin acknowledged that while there was a need to address the slowness of housing delivery, "the Government can't do anything that undermines standards whether from a building regulations point of view or an environmental perspective".

The Dublin Mid West TD added that of more pressing concern to small and medium sized developers was the length of time at which it takes to get planning permission and subsequent utility connections on site as well as the high costs of finance and site servicing.

Speaking on RTÉ's This Week programme, Sean O'Driscoll - a member of the Accelerating Infrastructure Taskforce - defended the changes.

"This was an action we asked for as we have over specified environmental legislation in Irish law. In 2022, we undertook 257 environmental impact assessments in Ireland.

"Germany is 18 times larger than Ireland, and undertook 257. Denmark - the same size as Ireland and a leader in infrastructure delivery - had just eight," he said.

A spokeswoman for Minister Cummins said that these changes were near implementation.

"Getting the remainder of the Planning and Development Act 2024 commenced is a priority for Minister Cummins and the Government," the spokesperson said

"Everyone is working towards ensuring that occurs by the end of this month, but a significant volume of regulations need to be updated as part of this process.

"Minister Cummins has taken the opportunity to review and revise the EIA thresholds as part of this extensive body of work and believes the introduction of exclusion thresholds will provide clarity and cut red tape."

It is anticipated the changes will kick in at the end of the month as part of the schedule of regulations required to allow for the commencement of Part 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 and will replace the current thresholds set out in the 2001 regulations.