Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 October 2022
91. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is satisfied that local authority county and city development plans are being prepared or amended to take account of the population increases in the 2022 Census of population; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53782/22]
View answerThe National Planning Framework (NPF) published in 2018 is the overall spatial planning and development strategy for Ireland. The NPF, together with the National Development Plan 2021, combine to form Project Ireland 2040 the overarching policy and planning framework for the social, economic and cultural development of Ireland.
The NPF strategy was incorporated into the associated Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs) of the Regional Assemblies in 2019 and 2020. The subsequent review of individual city and county development plans to align with the NPF is ongoing by the local authorities, the majority of which will be adopted by the end of 2023. When completed, it will be the first time that there has been an integrated hierarchy of statutory spatial plans in Ireland.
While it is necessary to be cognisant of the emerging population information from Census 2022, it is also important to examine such information critically and in light of the wider planning policy and housing development framework that is in place.
Planning authorities must determine the required housing supply for their administrative area in their statutory development plan process and ensure it is consistent with wider national and regional housing objectives. This approach is set out in Planning Guidelines issued under S.28 of the Planning & Development Act – the ‘Housing Supply Target Methodology for Development Planning, Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ (December 2020) which specifies the agreed approach for a planning authority to determine a Housing Supply Target (HST) for its 6-year development plan. This methodology utilises the independent research undertaken by the Economic and Social Research Institute into structural housing demand in Ireland to 2040, which further developed their work completed for the NPF.
Accordingly, a planning authority must determine an overall HST for new housing delivery consistent with the prescribed methodology and use this as the basis for the strategic decision-making in their development plan process, including its core strategy, settlement strategy and housing policies.
It is also important to note the role of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) in the overall plan making process. One core function of the OPR is the independent assessment of all local authority and regional assembly statutory plans, including county and city development plans, local area plans (LAPs) and RSESs.
The OPR provides observations during the drafting of statutory plans. In cases where the OPR finds that a local authority's plans are ultimately not consistent with relevant regional or national policies, the OPR can recommend the use of Ministerial powers of direction to bring plans back in line with statutory requirements and best practice.
It is also worth noting that the Planning and Development Act, 2000 includes specific provisions to allow for the regular review and update of the NPF. The Programme for Government commits to review the NPF by 2024. This review will look at NPF implementation to date and be informed by the final results of Census 2022 when available next year. The review will also consider a range of factors that will influence how we manage future growth in a planned, productive and sustainable way. This will include consideration of Ireland’s obligations under the Climate Action Plan and the influence of geopolitical factors on future growth. It is intended to publish a ‘roadmap’ document by the end of 2022 that will address the review process in more detail.
While the wider context and evolution of the NPF and Government Policy has implications for the formulation of such development plans, it is also worth noting that there is a mechanism available to vary a County or City Development Plan during its lifetime. During the lifetime of the development plan, planning authorities may wish to adjust the objectives and policies of the plan in order to take account of different circumstances or issues unforeseen at the time of the original making of the development plan. For these reasons, Section 13 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provides for the making of a variation to the development plan.
