Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
450. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he expects the public consultation on the National Planning Framework will take place; how the issue of climate change will be addressed as part of this process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34934/23]
View answerFurther to my response to Question No. 383 of 27 June, the Roadmap to the National Planning Framework (NPF) provides an outline of the indicative timelines and process for the revision process.
A core objective of the preparation of the first revision to the NPF will be to ensure that all relevant stakeholders and the wider public are consulted and encouraged to contribute to the process of this revision at appropriate stages in the process. Consequently, there are a number of consultation processes and structures for engagement that my Department has established to enable detailed consideration of this important issues.
I appointed an Expert Group in March 2023 to undertake a high-level review of the NPF and I expect that the work of the Group will conclude with the submission of their report to me over the summer.
As part of the commitment given in Housing for All to improve the functioning of the planning process and review the planning legislative code, a Planning Advisory Forum was established to input into the evolving policy and legislative agenda. This forum is chaired by my colleague, Minister O’Donnell. Its current purpose is to ensure the participation of relevant organisations, professional bodies and technical experts in the revision process and the inception meeting was held on 6 July 2023.
Furthermore, a high-level level Inter-Departmental Steering Group will be established shortly to lead and oversee this revision of the NPF. This group will be made up of high-level representatives of government departments whose policies and functions are relevant to the revision.
Finally, an environmental steering group is also being established to oversee the iterative and interactive processes in relation to the environmental assessments of Strategic Environmental Assessment, Appropriate Assessment and Strategic Flood Risk Assessment, as appropriate.
I anticipate that the public consultation on the draft NPF strategy will take place in Q4 of 2023.
The matter of climate change and the alignment of the NPF with Climate Action Plan 2023 as well as other relevant policy and legislation is specifically identified in the roadmap as being a critical consideration for this first revision to the NPF. My Department has commenced bi-lateral engagement with the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications on the revision and will continue to engage during the revision process with key stakeholders in order to address this matter.
