500 breaches of planning regulations in Wexford as people ‘dodge, duck, and dive’ to avoid criminal proceedings

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

Approximately 500 building works are taking place in Co Wexford without planning permission with the local council struggling to “nail down” those in breach of regulations.

Expressing her frustration at the pace at which Wexford County Council (WCC) deals with potential breaches, Councillor Barbara Anne Murphy said it was “dreadfully unfair” that some people had to apply for planning to carry out works to their homes while others could flout the laws with impunity.

“I know the council is bound by legislation, but when planning isn’t sought for a development, and it goes ahead without permission, and it’s undermining someone’s home, people are asking ‘I had to get planning permission, why didn’t they?’” said Cllr Murphy at the September meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD).

And when a development is carried out with permission, WCC isn’t taking the necessary measures to penalise the individual in question, according to Cllr Murphy.

“It’s reported to the council, someone comes to have a look, a letter is sent, and the work continues anyway,” she said. “It’s dreadfully unfair that people can continue to develop sites without planning permission. We are not, as a local authority, reacting fast enough, or with enough force, to shut people down. The public need to know how this works.”

Charged with explaining how planning enforcement works, planning officer David Wall said some cases required legal proceedings.

“It’s a potential criminal prosecution, so the burden of proof is on the council,” he said. “When we deal with planning enforcement cases there are instances where a genuine mistake has occurred and the individual is willing to work with the council.

“There is another type of person who will dodge, duck, dive, and it’s quite difficult to nail them down. In those cases we have to decide whether we’re going to go all the way to the High Court if necessary.

“We have about 500 open planning enforcement cases at the moment and that number is creeping up.”

Citing delays in the court system and, in particular, backlogs in the local district courts, Mr Wall said one of the only ways to speed up the process was for Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan to improve the laws around planning enforcement and give councils more power to enact legal proceedings.

Referencing a case in Co Meath which saw a 20-year planning dispute end with the demolition of a family home, Cathaoirleach Pat Kehoe said WCC needed to move in as soon as it was aware of a potential breach of regulations.

“Rather than letting developments continue without planning we should be able to move in as soon as a gap is put into a ditch that wasn’t there before, show them it’s not going unnoticed,” he said.

“We are short of inspectors, staff haven’t been replaced,” replied Mr Wall. “There’s not enough hours being allocated for inspectors to visit sites.”