I thank the Chairman for inviting the Department to meet the committee to discuss the general scheme of the planning and development Bill 2022, which was approved by Cabinet in December and published in January.
My name is Paul Hogan. I am the acting assistant secretary for the planning division. I am joined by Ms Jones, Mr. Waters and Mr. Ryan.
The planning landscape in Ireland has changed considerably since the current Planning and Development Act was enacted more than two decades ago. The country's population has grown by a third. Towns and cities have grown exponentially, and the way we live and work has been radically altered by the advent of new technologies and, more recently, by major events such as the pandemic. The wider sphere within which planning operates has also altered considerably over time. The advent of the national planning framework and the national development plan, the growth of regional spatial planning, the issuance of important European directives on areas such as habitats and biodiversity, and the rise in prominence of climate and energy-related considerations all play important roles in planning today in a very different way from which they did before the turn of the millennium.
Directives on matters such as habitats and biodiversity and the rise in prominence of climate and energy-related considerations all play important roles in planning in a very different way to which they did before the turn of the millennium.
Planning plays a pivotal role in how citizens interact with their locality, the wider environment and public spaces as well as how we resolve major challenges such as housing and sustainable energy. The 2000 Act enables considerable public participation and provides a framework to deal effectively and efficiently with nearly 30,000 applications every year, but is due an overhaul to build on that in order to ensure that our planning legislation is fit for purpose for the future.
It is within this context that the review and consolidation of the Planning and Development Act 2000 was undertaken. It is one of the actions contained within Housing for All. It was led by the previous Attorney General and commenced in late summer 2021. It has involved extensive engagement with the Department in terms of policy aspects and the feedback from the extensive stakeholder engagement undertaken. The key aim of the review is to put plan-making at the centre of the planning system, by bringing increased clarity, logical sequencing and streamlining to the planning legislation and by improving the functioning of the planning system for practitioners and the general public alike. Public participation, which is a hallmark of the current planning system, will remain a critical part of the system in the updated legislation.
The review sought to address areas of the Act that had become less clear and efficient than they ought to be due to the numerous amendments made over the years. It also afforded the opportunity to ensure that the provisions of the Act better align with up-to-date policy and are more accessible and streamlined from a legal perspective. This had to be achieved while maintaining respect for the role of the public, our adherence to constitutional requirements and to the intent of EU directives.
As the committee will be aware, the review was designed to deliver a draft Bill without a general scheme. It is intended that a final Bill will be published after the pre-legislative scrutiny process has been completed. The draft Bill is a considerable piece of proposed legislation. While much of it reflects an updating of the provisions in the existing Act, I would like to highlight the main proposed policy changes that have potential to improve clarity, consistency and certainty in the planning system.
I shall start with the purposes of the Act. Taking account of the various engagements and the policy considerations set out in Housing for All, it was considered important that the purpose of the Act be clearly outlined at the outset in order to set out the framework for a plan-led system for planning and development, based on an integrated hierarchy of plan-making and reflecting social, economic and environmental circumstances and considerations.
I shall turn now to clarity in plan-making. A key policy aim of the review was to ensure that to a greater extent, major debate is focused on the plan-making rather than the planning application stage. By putting greater emphasis on plan-making, for example on the scale of housing requirements to meet needs, in line with objectives of compact urban growth and environmental sustainability, it is intended that we can improve clarity and long-term visibility in planning outcomes. This then requires a delicate balance of consideration of public policy, public participation and environmental issues at the decision-making stage.
The alignment of strategic planning at national, regional and local level over longer cycles will bring greater certainty as will the streamlining of guidance through the introduction of national planning statements, approved by the Government. The introduction of extended ten-year development plans will provide a clear spatial planning framework for decision-making and will be reviewed and amended after five years, in practical terms, through the preparation of an interim report on implementation, assessing progress against delivery and against any wider changes to the legal and policy landscape.
On the certainty of timelines, users of the planning system will benefit from greater certainty through the introduction of a range of mandatory timelines across the various consenting processes, including for an coimisiún pleanála. As members are aware, An Bord Pleanála will be renamed an coimisiún pleanála and will have a revised organisational structure, and these new timelines are of central importance to this process. Penalties will apply for non-compliance with these timelines and the details for both the penalties and timelines are presently being worked through by the Department. I would expect that we will provide further details to the committee at our later session with in early March.
These timelines will be introduced on a phased basis, starting with strategic infrastructure developments, including energy projects. The ability to make decisions that materially contravene a development plan will be limited for both local authorities and an coimisiún pleanála. These changes will significantly increase certainty for all parties involved in both the application for development and any appeals or objections against such proposals and have been welcomed by stakeholders.
I will now turn to consistency in decision-making. All provisions contained in the draft Bill, including in the context of timelines, have been scrutinised by the Office of the Attorney General to ensure they are aligned with the relevant EU directives, and necessarily reflect the wording and intent of EU environmental directives. The appropriate assessment process, and particularly appropriate assessment in enforcement cases and processes for projects of imperative reasons of overriding public interest, has been reviewed to better reflect the intent of the habitats directive.
It should be noted that the Department is working on a costs protection scheme that will be introduced for those taking judicial review, the details of which will be clarified in the coming months. We will be working closely with colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on this scheme, which will remove a significant cost barrier to undertaking a judicial review and reflects the recent High Court judgment in the Heather Hill case. An coimisiún pleanála or the local authority will also be able to correct an error of fact or law in its planning decision, and timelines will be introduced, for the various stages in the judicial review process, including for pleadings and submission of documents to the court.
The proposed legislation will also bring clarity as to who can seek a judicial review. In the future, a case can be taken either by an individual, or an environmental NGO or association, where there is sufficient interest in the case and other requirements such as being incorporated as a company are met. Groups such as residents' associations will still be able to seek a judicial review, but must comply with these requirements. If they do not, the members of the association may seek review either individually or collectively, as the provisions in the proposed Bill do not prevent this.
Overall, these changes should be seen in the context of other policy developments including greater consistency of approach with regard to planning policy and more limited grounds for material contravention in planning decisions, and should reduce the instances in which citizens feel that they have no option but to resort to judicial review, while protecting their rights to do so should they consider it necessary.
As noted in my introduction, planning interacts with multiple aspects of people’s daily lives and this review process provided a timely opportunity to ensure that the legislative framework is optimised for the society we live in today and to provide for the challenges faced by future generations. I would like to conclude by thanking the Office of the Attorney General for the significant work undertaken over the past 18 months on this review, and to the various stakeholders for their engaged debate, including the members of this committee. We look forward to hearing members' observations on the draft Bill and answering any questions that arise.