Junior minister Niall Collins has said he is “entirely satisfied” that his planning application for his family home in Co Limerick over 20 years ago met the correct planning criteria and was correctly adjudicated upon.
Mr Collins, Minister of State for Skills and Further Education, told the Dáil on Thursday afternoon that he wished to address “the misleading and inaccurate contents” of a recent article in relation to a planning application for his family home in Patrickswell.
The Limerick TD said in 2001, “while a private citizen”, he engaged a local architect and planning agent to submit a planning application on his behalf on land that his family owned in Patrickswell.
He said he had acquired a house near Limerick city with his wife, two years prior, in 1999 and that he wished to move closer to his parents and also hoped to rear his own family “in an area where I had lived most of my life”.
“My home area of Patrickswell was deemed to be in the pressure area as designated by the 1999 Limerick County Development Plan, which was the overarching planning policy document and upon which planning decisions were made at the time,” he said.
“The decision on my planning application for my new home near my parents would be based on the policy contained in the 1999 Limerick County Development Plan, which clearly stated that any person who lived in the pressure area prior to 1990 was eligible to be granted permission.
“I was eligible in accordance with the planning criteria and I appointed a local architect to compile and submit the application on my behalf.”
Mr Collins added that he “clearly” met the planning criteria on two grounds – by virtue of being the son of a long-term resident land holder and having lived in the pressure area prior to 1990.
“The matter of whether I owned a house with my wife near Limerick city, which was outside the pressure area, was not an issue of consideration or policy at the time under that county development plan and whether I had stated that or not was immaterial to the planning adjudication process 23 years ago,” he said.
The Fianna Fáil TD said in 2004 he was elected as a councillor to Limerick County Council and thereafter the local authority introduced a new planning policy in relation to housing need. Mr Collins said he was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2007.
“This housing need factor ie whether you owned a house or not referred to in the article only came into a new county development plan policy for Co Limerick in 2004,” he said.
Mr Collins added that to suggest his planning application in 2001 was not valid or did not meet the planning criteria was “entirely factually incorrect and inaccurate”.
The Limerick TD said the planning application was in the name of Niall Collins, as was the site notice and the newspaper advertisement of the application, “and in all my correspondence on the planning file”.
“The planning permission was granted in the name of Niall Collins. Yesterday, I examined the full planning file at the offices of Limerick City and County council and all of these documents are clearly on file and are available for inspection,” he said.
He said he “learned for the first time” earlier this week that an advertisement published in the Limerick Leader newspaper on April 28th, 2001 in relation to a planning application was in the name of “a Niall O’Connor”.
“I was not aware of this advertisement before this week. The correct and only advertisement that I authorised at any time was that published in the Limerick Leader on May 12th, 2001,” he said.
“It is the only advertisement on the planning file at Limerick City and County Council and is clearly in my name, Niall Collins.
“All of this is available for inspection by anyone on the planning file at Limerick City and County Council. I’m entirely satisfied that my planning application 23 years ago for my family home met the correct planning criteria and was correctly adjudicated upon.”
