The Changing Planning Context

Brave New World?

While many have been on the beach, this warmest summer on record has been incredibly busy for planning and planning law. Even if you were not away from work for the whole of the summer (the beach at Salthill in Galway in April seems a distant memory), you would be forgiven for asking this week, 'what happened?'

Late summer flowers at Greenway, near Dartmouth, Devon, a National Trust property and formerly the home of author Agatha Christie.

The context of planning (and planning law) has changed, is changing and will continue to do so.

In this post I will take a quick look at the;

• continuing commencement of the Planning and Development Act 2024 ("PDA 2024")

• new An Coimisiún Pleanála

• National Development Plan Review 2025

• new Apartment Guidelines

• draft Exempt Development Regulations

• new Zoning Guidance

• Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2025 (extension of permissions and 'permitted modification')

• shadow of Coolglass

The final two topics are available only to paid subscribers.

Save for Coolglass, I do not refer to recent case law which I will cover in future posts.

Commencement of PDA 2024

As was envisaged from the outset, PDA 2024 is being commenced in phases (see my post of 6 March).

Provisions commenced to date include those providing for;

• Judicial Review (Part 9 Chapter 1) (which applies only to decisions made under PDA 2024 – s279(1)(a) - of which there will be none until other Parts – especially Parts 3 and 4 - are commenced)

• the restructuring and renaming of An Bord Pleanála (Part 17 and associated provisions) (see immediately below)

• definitions, time limits and penalties in respect of enforcement under Part 11

• the continuation in force under PDA 2024 of statutory instruments made under our old friend, the Planning and Development Act 2000 ("PDA 2000"). (NB the definition of statutory instruments is very wide and includes orders, regulations, licences, notices, guidelines "or other like document made, issued, granted or otherwise created by or under an Act...", s2 Interpretation Act 2005 and see, for example, Clonres v ABP [2021] IEHC 303 §57)

Although absolute reliance should not be placed on even the summer's amended version of the Planning and Development Act 2024, Implementation Plan, it is expected that Part 3 (“Plans, Policies and Related Matters”, including the new development plan provisions) and Part 4 (“Development Consents”, including provisions governing direct applications to the Commission and Appeals) will be included in commencements effected before the end of this year.

An Coimisiún Pleanála

An Bord Pleanála became An Coimisiún Pleanála ("the Commission") on 18 June. Fortunately, by s495(3) PDA 2024, the references to the Board that we are all bound to continue to make shall be construed as references to the Commission.

The Commission has a corporate structure different to that of the Board but the only practical difference practitioners are likely to notice (apart from the name change) is that planning decisions are now made by Planning Commissioners, not Board members (s505(2)(b) PDA 2024).

The Commission does have a Board (s497 PDA 2024) but it is concerned solely with managing the organisation, not planning matters.

These changes concern corporate restructuring and naming only. The Commission continues to undertake the same functions as the Board in the same way under PDA 2000. The changes in the way that direct applications and appeals are processed will be effected by the commencement of Part 4 PDA 2024.

National Development Plan

The National Development Plan Review 2025 (“NDP 2025”) was published in July.

“The NDP sets out how funding will be made available for certain projects which are considered essential to achievement of the national strategic outcomes identified in the NPF.” The NDP and NPF “are closely integrated one with the other.” (Barr J, Friends of the Irish Environment CLG v The Government of Ireland[2020] IEHC 225 §11/12)

NDP 2025 provides for total investment of €275.4bn between 2026 and 2035 including €3.5bn for energy projects, €12.2bn for water services and €24.3bn for transport projects (of which at least €10bn will likely be consumed by MetroLink, if approved by the Commission).

Completion of the projects referred to in NDP 2025 is subject to departmental project lists and prioritisation not yet published, favourable planning decisions and potential Judicial Review (such as that recently launched against the Commission's approval of the Greater Dublin Drainage Project, ACP 312131).

The NDP is “aspirational” (Friends of the Irish Environment CLG v The Government of Ireland [2022] IESC 42§121).

New Apartment Guidelines

The Planning Design Standards for Apartments, Guidelines for Planning Authorities (“the Guidelines”) were issued on 8 July with immediate effect.

The Guidelines were issued under s28 PDA 2000 and planning authorities must have regard to them whenever they're relevant. The Guidelines also contain 'specific planning policy requirements' (SPPRs) with which planning authorities must comply (s28(1C) PDA 2000), even if the SPPR contradicts a development plan (s34(2)(ba) PDA 2000).

The Guidelines will likely remain in effect after commencement of the relevant parts of PDA 2024 as National Planning Policy Guidance under s27 PDA 2024. SPPRs will become National Planning Policies and Measures under the definition thereof in s2 PDA 2024.

My post of 16 July looks in more detail at the Guidelines.

Zoning Changes

In July, the Government issued the NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines instructing planning authorities to update housing targets in line with the National Planning Framework First Revision (April 2025) (“NPF 2025”) in an attempt to achieve significant acceleration in housing delivery. Many will say that the need for such changes was underlined earlier this week by disappointing housing commencement numbers. On a rolling 12 month basis (August 2024 to July 2025), just over 40,000 commencement notices were filed, that's only two-thirds of the total for 2024. In respect of 2025 to date, notices are at just one fifth of the number for the same period last year. The decline in house building appears to be quickening.

The requirements for each of the State's 31 planning authorities (p14 of the Guidelines) are based on the NPF 2025 target of 55,000 new homes each year between now and 2034. Planning authorities are given 'head room' to zone for a total of up to 83,000 units each year. “Planning authorities should...assess [their] current adopted...development plans against the requirement [s10(1A) PDA 2000] to provide the capacity to develop housing to the extent identified in these Guidelines.” (p6) Each planning authority is expected to vary its development plan to reflect these new targets “as quickly as possible” (p6). The Minister intends to monitor zoned and serviced land to ensure that its availability does not become a barrier to planning and development.

Planning authorities are reminded in the Guidelines that (i) s46 PDA 2024 (Part 3, see above regarding commencement) provides for the incorporation in development plans of relevant housing growth targets and ensuring adequate zoning for same (ii) PDA 2024 provides for the Minister to require planning authorities to review and if necessary vary their development plans to secure same (p11/12).

Exempt Development Consultation and the new Regulations

Unlike PDA 2000, PDA 2024 des not define any exempt development. All exempt development will be defined in new Regulations. A four week consultation on a draft of those Regulations opened on 29 July and closed on 26 August. See my posts here of 5 and 12 June.

The Government is now compiling a final draft of the new Regulations for legal review and environmental screening. The final Draft Regulations will be submitted to both houses of the Oireachtas where they will require positive resolutions in order to be adopted (s4(4) PDA 2024).

Together with s9 PDA 2024 which provides for exempt development, the new Regulations are expected to be commenced with Part 2 PDA 2024 towards the end of this year.