Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2020
312. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the projected timeline for the issuance of updated development plan guidelines to local authorities; if he will be inviting public consultation on the draft guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40390/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraFurther to finalisation of three Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies between June 2019 and January 2020, review of City and County Development Plans has commenced in many local authorities, overseen for the first time by the Office of the Planning Regulator.
The process of alignment between plans will continue into 2021 and when complete, will be the first time that there is an integrated hierarchy of statutory spatial plans in Ireland. This is critical to ensuring that future development can be regulated by a tiered policy framework and supported by a national public capital investment programme.
My Department is currently finalising an updated draft of the Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities to assist with the review of development plans and while it has been my aim to have draft Guidelines published for public consultation by the end of the year, rather than advertise the commencement of public consultation in the run up to Christmas, it would be preferable to initiate the process early in the New Year in January 2021.
