Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016

Strategic Housing Division

11. (1) A division of the Board, to be known as the Strategic Housing Division, is established on the commencement of this section.

(2) The Strategic Housing Division is in addition to any division for the time being constituted under section 112 of the Act of 2000 and to the Strategic Infrastructure Division.

(3) The Strategic Housing Division shall, subject to subsections (8), (9) and (10), determine any matter falling to be determined by the Board under the Planning and Development Acts 2000 to 2016 in relation to strategic housing development other than development to which section 4 (4) relates.

(4) For the purpose of subsection (3), the Strategic Housing Division has all the functions of the Board.

(5) The Strategic Housing Division consists of 4 members, nominated by the chairperson of the Board to be, for the time being, members of the Division.

(6) The chairperson of the Board shall appoint one of the members of the Strategic Housing Division to be, for the time being, the chairperson of that Division.

(7) Where a member of the Strategic Housing Division is absent—

(a) the chairperson of the Board or deputy chairperson of the Board may act in place of that member, or

(b) the chairperson of the Board may authorise any other ordinary member to act in place of that member.

(8) The quorum for a meeting of the Strategic Housing Division is 3.

(9) Either—

(a) the chairperson of the Division, or

(b) the person acting as chairperson of a meeting of the Division,

may, at any stage before a decision is made by the Division, transfer the consideration of any matter from the Strategic Housing Division to a meeting of all available members of the Board where he or she considers the matter to be of particular complexity or significance.

(10) (a) Where at any time after the specified period the Board is of the opinion, having regard to any outstanding matters to which section 4 (3) relates and to the dispatch generally of the business of the Board, that the Strategic Housing Division should be dissolved, then the Board may request the Minister to dissolve that Division.

(b) Where the Minister receives a request from the Board under paragraph (a), then he or she may by direction dissolve the Strategic Housing Division with effect from a specified date and, accordingly, any remaining business of that Division shall be performed—

(i) by the Board, or

(ii) to the extent that it may be assigned to the Strategic Infrastructure Division or to that Division or to one or more than one division under section 112(1) of the Act of 2000, by each such division so assigned,

as if the Board or each such division, as the case may be, were the Strategic Housing Division for the purposes of section 4 (3) and, where appropriate, section 7 (2)(a) shall be read accordingly.

(c) The Minister shall cause notice of the making of the direction under paragraph (b) to be published in Iris Oifigiúil and such notice shall include the date of dissolution.