This afternoon, Kilkenny County Council passed a motion calling on the Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan to withdraw all planning exemptions for IPAS centres in the county.
The motion, proposed by Independent Councillor Maurice Shortall, called on the Council “To write to Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O’Callaghan to withdraw all planning exemptions for properties accommodating International Protection Applicants. This will ensure that all properties go through the normal planning process. Also to request that the Community Engagement Team communicate with communities prior to signing of contracts for International Protection accommodation which will allow for full community engagement.”
Councillor Shortall’s motion was seconded by independent Councillor Eugene McGuinness with agreement from Councillor Michael Doyle of Fine Gael and Councillor Joe Malone of Fianna Fáil. No one opposed the motion which was passed unanimously.
In proposing the motion, Councillor Shortall said: “It is important to emphasise that the motion is for a fair planning system for all. If I wanted planning permission for an extension etc, it would be a robust encounter with planning I would have to encounter.
“On the flip side if I was to buy a property that was adequate for living accommodation for multiple people I could bypass my neighbours under Section 5 and plough away in secret which is what we see up and down the country with no engagement.
“This motion isn’t targeted at immigrants, it’s targeted at the system that makes the rich richer in this country without the need for planning permission for multi million Euro businesses.”
The Council also decided to send the motion to the Minister for Housing James Browne.
The motion is unprecedented and represents the first occasion on which a County or City Council has voted to call for an end to the granting of exemptions under the current amended planning regulations.
Speaking to Gript, Councillor Shortall said that the motion makes common sense and that it might well “get the ball rolling” if other local authorities follow suit.