Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 March 2018
628. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government if planning authorities will be asked to revise their development plans to reflect the new situation in view of the recent publication of the national planning framework, NPF; if not, the date on which this will occur; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10879/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraFollowing publication of the National Planning Framework (NPF), on 16 February, my Department issued Circular Letter FPS 02/2018 to all local authorities informing them of the legal status of the Framework.
In this context planning authorities were informed that pending any additional statutory provision, the NPF constitutes national planning policy in accordance with Section 2 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) and all other related provisions of the Act, including, in particular, Sections 9, 10, 22, 23, 37 and 143.
Currently, local authority development plan timeframes vary, depending on when they were last reviewed and adopted which, in the context of the NPF and subsequent Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs), means that some plans might have reviews underway and completed just before the NPF and the RSESs take effect. Accordingly, it could be a number of years before the relevant development plans at national, regional and local level become properly aligned and consistent with one another.
In this regard, it is proposed that a process of alignment between national, regional and local development plans will be provided for through amendments to the current statutory timeframes for local authority development plan reviews. Essentially, it is proposed that any reviews which have been initiated and are currently underway will be paused so that they can take account of emerging statistical and evidential input from forthcoming RSESs once these new regional strategies are in place. This alignment will not be achieved in a manageable or timely manner if current Development Plans continue to be subject to separate review at very different intervals over a rolling 6-year period.
In order to achieve effective implementation, it is therefore proposed that City and County Development Plans be more closely aligned with the NPF and subsequent regional strategies, having regard to the early 2019 timescale for completion of the regional strategies.
In recognition of the critical role that the local government sector will have in the ongoing implementation of the Framework, my Department is currently running a series of workshops to ensure that those local authority officials involved in planning matters are fully informed in relation to the content of the Framework as we move into the implementation phase.
