Government Launches Review of Planning Legislation

Today, the Government approved a comprehensive review of Irish planning legislation.
 
The review of our planning laws, to be overseen by the Attorney General and a dedicated working group of professionals with planning law expertise, will improve the Government’s ability to implement major programmes, including the National Development Plan and Housing for All Plan, as well as improve Ireland’s national competitiveness. The Attorney General will work closely with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
 
Over time, planning legislation has become overly complicated and difficult to navigate, contributing to significant delays and additional costs in the delivery of housing.
 
The planning legislation review sanctioned by the Government today is of an unprecedented scale, using experts in planning law under the supervision of the Attorney General, to improve our planning laws.
 
This review will be a key enabler in the delivery of the Housing for All plan and it is intended that it will be completed by September 2022. Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of at least 33,000 housing units per year over the next decade, with a mix of social, affordable and private housing for sale and rent.
 
Welcoming the announcement, the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin T.D. said:
 
“When we published Housing for All earlier in the month, I reiterated my view that housing is the single most urgent and important social issue facing our country at this time and that I am determined that we as a Government get to grips with it.  
 
We also committed that the Housing for All plan would be underpinned by accountability and a strong delivery focus. This large-scale planning reform programme, which will bring about fundamental improvements to our planning laws, reflects the approach we are taking overall, with challenging deadlines and a truly cross-Government approach to delivery of Housing for All’s objectives and other major plans.
 
Our planning laws need a complete overhaul to meet the ambition outlined in Housing For All.  Streamlining and simplifying the planning laws will support the accelerated delivery of housing set out under the Housing for All plan.”