Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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104. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason a large number of phone masts have been erected in an area (details supplied); if the erection of such masts is communicated beforehand with local residents; if there is a requirement for such communication to be made beforehand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27403/20]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Under Section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended (the Act) I am specifically precluded from exercising power or control in relation to any particular planning case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is or may be concerned. Consequently, I may not seek to influence the outcome of, or comment on, any individual planning cases.

It should be noted that certain communications antennae are exempt from the requirement to obtain planning permission under Class 31 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended (the Regulations).

Where no exemption applies and a proposed development requires planning permission, an application is made to the local planning authority under section 34 of the Act. Under article 18 of the Regulations, the applicant is required to publish a notice in a newspaper circulating in the area regarding the proposed development advising that the application may be inspected at the offices of the planning authority during public opening hours and that submissions may be made by the public to the planning authority regarding the proposed development. Furthermore, the planning authority is required under article 27 of the Regulations to publish on its website, a weekly list of the planning applications received by the authority during that week.  The planning authority is also required to notify any member of the public who made a submission on a planning application of its decision (Article 31) and publish a weekly list of decisions on it's website (Article 32).

A person shall not be entitled solely by reason of a permission under this section 34 of the Act to carry out any development. The possession and use of radio equipment in Ireland is governed by the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1926, as amended, which stipulates that an appropriate Wireless Telegraphy licence must be held, unless a licence exempted.

The matter of notifying the public regarding the licensing of phone masts is a matter for the Commission for Communications Regulation, and is one in which I as Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage have no statutory function.