Former Fine Gael minister of State Damien English has lost his political post for falsely signing an application for planning permission declaring that he did not have another property in 2008 but he will not lose his house, according to planning experts.
People applying for planning permission today are given clear warnings by councils that there are consequences that will flow if they fail to answer all questions truthfully when submitting the necessary paperwork.
“Failure to complete this form or attach the necessary documentation, or the submission of incorrect information or omission of required information, will lead to the invalidation of your application,” the forms note.
Local authorities have the power to revoke planning permission after leave has been granted. “But they can only do that in advance of commencement of works on the site,” says planning expert Mary Hughes.
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The fall of Damien English
Cormac McQuinn and Pat Leahy join Hugh Linehan to discuss the fallout from a report on The Ditch news website that Meath West Fine Gael TD Damien English made a false claim on a planning application which allowed him to build a second house. The news forced Deputy English to resign his post as a junior minister.
However, local authorities can levy fines, or other enforcement actions for up to 12 years after a grant of permission — although in Mr English’s case permission was given for his Castlemartin, Co Meath, property in 2008, so that is beyond the reach of enforcement.
“If false information is provided at any stage of the planning application process there are a number of avenues that can be pursued,” Ms Hughes, a director of HRA planning consultants, told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne.
[ Why Damien English resigned over planning permission for his homeOpens in new window ]
False declarations are not rare in planning applications, say planners and local politicians. Though local authorities have become stricter in the last 20 years and better able to weed out obviously false applications.
Most applicants will err on the side of providing too much paperwork, not too little, in an attempt to prove their qualification for local housing need, including membership of GAA clubs, school certificates and such, according to planners.
However, some are tempted to be coy when it comes to declaring that the house being built is a first home. Sometimes this is overlooked if an applicant is returning to the county to take up permanent residence on a family farm.
Local authorities differ in their interpretation of the rules, on occasion. In some cases, the applicant must be part of the immediate family of the person selling or giving the site.
In the case of childless farmers, “a favoured niece or nephew” may qualify. “If we are not satisfied, we can and do ask for further information and request applicants to submit how they comply with the criteria of local need,” said one planner.
Further information will almost certainly be sought if a person who has a house in a nearby town is declaring an intention to build their first home, according to planners. The greatest scrutiny comes in cases where people seek to build in rural districts now seen by planners as threatened by urban sprawl, particularly in Dublin commuter counties but elsewhere also.
In these so-called “rural areas under urban influence” cases “exceptional need” must be demonstrated by applicants before they are given the go-ahead for a house with a septic tank.
[ Analysis: Was Damien English correct to resign? Yes. Did he have a choice? NoOpens in new window ]
Digitisation of files has facilitated better monitoring. Many local authorities now have 30 years of digitised planning records, meaning that planners can search applicants’ planning history.
The demand for one-off housing is seemingly endless. In 2021, they accounted for 45 per cent of all houses permitted in the State at 7,499 units, up by 42 per cent on the 5,292 one-off houses permitted in 2020.
Such a trend requires close monitoring, said planning regulator Niall Cussen last month since it could “potentially be in conflict” with the Government’s objectives to have a more compact and sustainable pattern of overall development.
The Office of the Planning Regulator does not comment on individual cases or investigate them. Neither does the Department of Housing and Local Government. The decision on verifying planning applications for one-off housing is on a case-by-case basis and strictly a matter for individual local authorities and An Bord Pleanála would have no role in verification.
Planners’ vigilance, along with a mix of local knowledge and a readiness to use the extensive land, property registry and planning files, is essential in the vetting of rural planning applications, say planners.
Reputations count, especially that of local engineers and architects, if they are known “for being somewhat loose” in their regard for planning rules, said one Munster-based planner.