2,400 reports of suspected illegal works in 2024

The Planning Authority received 2,411 reports alleging illegal development in 2024, half of which resulted in confirmed breaches, according to the annual report.

The number of reports was similar to that received in 2023 despite the PA’s decision to stop accepting anonymous reports.

This emerges from the authority’s annual report for 2024, which has just been published. Significantly, the report also refers to an increase in applications for ‘recreational’ uses in the countryside, a trend which intensified after the pandemic.

The report also reveals that in 2024 the authority started requesting complainants to provide their contact details.

The decision not to accept anonymous reports was justified because a substantial number of reports were unfounded or could not be acted upon due to insufficient details and the inability to seek clarifications. The new system allows investigating officers to update complainants on the outcome and request clarifications where needed.

Despite this change, the total number of complaints received in 2024 was just slightly lower than the 2,456 reports filed in 2023.

Illegal development was identified in around half the cases reported by the public. Property owners submitted sanctioning applications in 521 of these cases, while in another 482 cases, the contraveners removed the illegal development before further action was taken. An enforcement notice was only issued in 162 cases where the contravener persisted in the illegality or failed to submit a sanctioning application.

In total, the Authority issued 191 stop and enforcement notices, including 162 based on reports from the public. This represents an 18% decrease from the previous year. The report attributes this decrease to a strategy focused on persuading contraveners to rectify infringements before resorting to formal action. The report shows that 76% of cases subjected to an enforcement notice carried daily fines.

A total of 327 pending stop and enforcement notices, most of which were issued in previous years, were closed during the year, including 125 following permission to sanction the development and 117 where the illegal works were removed by the contravener.

Rural planning pressure remains high

The post-pandemic trend which saw an increase in applications in rural areas for formalisation of recreational uses in the countryside continued in 2024. According to the report, these applications are largely based on an “incorrect perception” regarding what is permissible in the ODZ and are “increasing the pressures on staff members who are required to ensure that the usual standards of rigorous assessment are applied”.

Moreover, proposals for the subdivision of farmland with individual access along with applications for stables remained “markedly high” in 2024.

In another annual report issued two years ago, the Planning Authority had linked this trend to the “exorbitant increase in rural land purchases for recreational purposes”.

According to the authority, these applications dilute the purpose of legitimate rural planning,  and increases the workload on staff, who must ensure rigorous assessment standards are maintained.