15. (1) Nothing in section 30(1) of the Act of 2000 F1[or section 586 of the Planning and Development Act 2024] shall be construed as preventing the Minister from doing all or any of the following when he or she is performing a relevant function:

(a) making a planning application to a planning authority pursuant to the provisions of Part III or XV of that Act;

(b) making an appeal pursuant to the provisions of that Act;

(c) making a request for a declaration, a referral for a decision or applying for a determination pursuant to the provisions of section 5 of that Act;

(d) doing any act or thing pursuant to the provisions of that Act relating to a matter specified in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

(2) In this section, “relevant function” means—

(a) a function transferred to the Minister by the Heritage (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 339 of 2020), or

(b) a function transferred (whether before or after the coming into operation of this section) to the Minister from the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media by an order under section 6(1) of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 1939.