247.—F1151[(1) Subject to subsection (1A), a person who—

(a) has an interest (including a lease granted under section 2 of the Act of 1933, of a part of the foreshore that consists of, or includes, the maritime site on which it is proposed to carry out the development concerned) in land, or

(b) is the holder of—

(i) a maritime area consent granted for the occupation of a maritime site for the purposes of proposed development, or

(ii) a licence granted under section 3 of the Act of 1933 authorising the licensee to do any act or acts referred to in that section for the purposes of proposed development on, or in relation to, the maritime site in which the development is proposed to be situated,

and who intends to make a planning application may, with the agreement (which shall not be unreasonably withheld) of the planning authority concerned, consult with the planning authority for the purposes of discussing any proposed development in relation to the land or maritime site, as the case may be, and the planning authority may advise the person regarding the proposed application.]

F1152[(1A) (a) F1153[Subject to subsection (7) and section 5] of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016, prior to making an application to a planning authority or authorities under section 34 in respect of a development that—

(i) consists of or includes either or both residential development of more than 10 housing units or non-residential development of more than 1,000 square metres gross floor space, F1154[…]

F1155[(ia) consists of or includes the development of student accommodation that includes 200 or more bed spaces, or]

(ii) such other development as may be prescribed,

a prospective applicant shall have consulted the appropriate planning authority or authorities in whose area or areas the proposed development would be situated, comprising at least one meeting, and for that purpose—

(I) subject to paragraph (b), F1153[this section] applies, with any necessary modifications to those consultations, and

(II) those consultations shall have regard to so much of Part V as would be relevant to proposals that include housing development.

(b) F1156[Where a planning authority receives a request for consultation from a prospective applicant in relation to proposed development referred to in paragraph (a), such consultations shall be held, or the planning authority shall provide a written confirmation referred to in subsection (7), within the period of 4 weeks beginning on the date on which the request is received by the planning authority,] unless the prospective applicant requests that the period be extended by a specified period, in which case—

(i) the period shall be extended by the planning authority, or planning authorities, as the case may be, by such specified period upon the first such request, and

(ii) the period may be extended, at the discretion of the planning authority or planning authorities, as the case may be, by such specified period upon a second or subsequent such request.

(c) The failure by a planning authority to comply with the requirement to hold a consultation meeting for the purposes of F1153[this section] by virtue of paragraph (b) within the time limits provided for by that paragraph shall not prevent the prospective applicant, after the expiration of the period specified in that paragraph, from making an application to a planning authority or authorities under section 34 to which the request for a consultation under paragraph (a) relates.

(d) The Minister may by regulations prescribe for such matters of procedure and administration as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient in respect of requests to which paragraph (a) relate and may be so prescribed in respect of different classes of such requests.

(e) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (d), regulations under that paragraph may make provision for the following—

(i) the manner in which requests under paragraph (a) are to be made to planning authorities,

(ii) requiring planning authorities to acknowledge in writing the receipt of requests under paragraph (a),

(iii) requiring any person making a request under paragraph (a) to furnish to the planning authority concerned any specified types of drawings, plans, documents or other information in relation to that request.

(f) For the purposes of this subsection "gross floor space" means the area ascertained by the internal measurement of the floor space on each floor of a building (including internal walls and partitions), disregarding any floor space provided for the parking of vehicles by persons occupying or using the building or buildings where such floor space is incidental to the primary purpose of the building.]

F1157[(g) A planning authority shall, in carrying out consultations under this section, consult with the competent authority (within the meaning of the Aircraft Noise (Dublin Airport) Regulation Act 2019) and, where requested to do so by the competent authority, facilitate the competent authority in engaging in the consultation and requiring the person making a request under paragraph (a) to furnish to the planning authority any specified types of drawings, plans, documents or other information in relation to that request as the competent authority may specify.]

(2) In any consultations under subsection (1), the planning authority shall advise the person concerned of the procedures involved in considering a planning application, including any requirements of the permission regulations, and shall, as far as possible, indicate the relevant objectives of the development plan which may have a bearing on the decision of the planning authority.

(3) The carrying out of consultations shall not prejudice the performance by a planning authority of any other of its functions under this Act, or any regulations made under this Act and cannot be relied upon in the formal planning process or in legal proceedings.

(4) (a) In order to satisfy the requirements of this section, a planning authority may specify that consultations may be held at particular times and at particular locations and the authority shall not be obliged to enter into consultations otherwise than as specified by it.

(b) Where a planning authority decides to hold consultations in accordance with paragraph (a) it shall, at least once in each year, publish notice of the times and locations at which consultations are held in one or more newspapers circulating in the area of the authority.

(5) The planning authority shall keep a record in writing of any consultations F1158[or request for consultations] under this section that relate to a proposed development, including the names of those who participated in the consultations F1158[or request for consultations], and a copy of such record shall be placed and kept with the documents to which any planning application in respect of the proposed development relates.

F1155[(5A) A record kept by a planning authority under subsection (5) shall only be made public when a planning application in respect of the proposed development is made in accordance with section 34.]

(6) A member or official of a planning authority is guilty of an offence if he or she takes or seeks any favour, benefit or payment, direct or indirect (on his or her own behalf or on behalf of any other person or body), in connection with any consultation entered into or any advice given under this section.

F1155[(7) Where a planning authority receives a request under this section in relation to a proposed development in respect of a part of which (referred to in this section as the "permitted development") permission has already been granted under section 9 of the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016 or on foot of an application in accordance with section 32A, and the planning authority is satisfied, having compared the proposed development to the permitted development, that—

(a) the proposed development is substantially the same as the permitted development, and

(b) the nature, scale and effect of any alterations to the permitted development are not such that require the consultation process to be repeated,

the planning authority may determine, notwithstanding subsection (1A), that no consultation is required under this section in relation to the proposed development and may provide a confirmation in writing to the person who made the request to that effect.

(8) A determination under subsection (7) shall not prejudice the performance by the planning authority of its functions under this Act or any regulations under this Act or any other enactment and cannot be relied upon in the formal planning process or in legal proceedings.

(9) A member or official of a planning authority who takes or seeks any favour, benefit or payment, direct or indirect (on his or her own behalf or on behalf of any other person or body), in connection with a determination under subsection (7) commits an offence.]