Local authorities are to revisit their county development plans in a bid to accelerate housing delivery across the country, under the government’s revised National Planning Framework (NFP), published in recent weeks.

Planning permission for housing, rural and urban, is governed by each local authority’s development plan agreed by council members, which – until now – has been revised every six years.

However, the Planning and Development Act (HNDA) 2024, which was signed into law last October, extends the life of these development plans to 10 years.

This new legislation now requires county development plans to be updated as quickly as possible to reflect housing requirements which have changed vastly in recent years.

While the review makes no specific mention of rural housing planning, there will be changes to the Housing Need Demand Assessment (HNDA), which is a core principle determining who is granted planning permission in rural areas.

Housing policies

The HNDA will be updated under the revised NPF in order to support housing strategies and to provide ‘a robust, evidence base to support decisions about new housing supply’ under the final draft that is subject to Government approval.

The HNDA will also inform housing policies and associated land use zoning policies as well as assisting in determining where new policy areas or investment programmes are to be developed.

“Once approved by the Oireachtas, this plan will shape necessary reviews of current regional strategies and local authority development plans to reflect today’s reality and to ensure the zoning of land for residential, employment and a range of other purposes meets our country’s needs,” said Minister for Housing, James Browne.

“I intend, following completion of the National Planning Framework Revision process, to provide further clear direction and guidance relating to housing requirements and I fully expect local authorities to translate this revised NPF into their own local plans as speedily as possible.

“Ireland needs a step change in the delivery of housing. With a revised NPF and the new Planning and Development Acting being implemented we are making sure that the vital conditions for the accelerated delivery of new homes is provided for in the planning system.

“Our growing population places greater demands on housing and infrastructure, and we need to plan for the provision of the right number of homes in the right places – including new sustainable communities at brownfield and greenfield locations along existing or planned high-capacity public transport corridors.”

Minister of State for planning John Cummins said the revised NPF marked ‘another significant step to increase capacity to deliver and accelerate home building across the country’.

“The NPF and the subsequent guidance that will issue will give clarity to local authorities on translating the revised housing requirements at a national level to local plan level in order to increase our housing output,” he said.