Q&A: What is the new Planning and Development Bill and what will it change? 

Tadgh McNally lays out the practical impacts of Ireland's new planning law, the main changes it will make, and key criticisms of the reforms

One of the headline measures in the Planning and Development Bill is its stipulation that decisions and appeals must be made between 18 and 48 weeks. Picture: iStock

What exactly will this bill change?

The new Planning and Development Bill is essentially a refresh of planning legislation introduced in 2000, consolidating planning laws into one massive bill — the third biggest in the history of the State.

It sets out the overall planning framework, with key changes to how people interact with the planning system including at An Bord Pleanála and through judicial reviews.

Additionally, the bill will seek to further align planning policy directly with Government directives. This means that national planning policy will supersede regional planning policy, which takes precedence over local planning policies.

National planning policies will be set directly by the housing minister and agreed by the government.

Will it make planning decisions happen more quickly?

The bill itself will not speed up the process directly, but mandatory, statutory timelines for decisions to be made will be introduced through the legislation.

These timelines will vary depending on the planning authority. For local planning authorities, decisions are required to be made in eight weeks. For An Bord Pleanála — which is soon to become An Coimisiún Pleanála — decisions and appeals must be made between 18 and 48 weeks.

The timeline of these decisions depends on the complexity of the application. For example, large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Metrolink will take 48 weeks to adjudicate.

If planning authorities fail to meet their deadlines, there are escalating consequences which can be applied. These range from an agreed extension to fines and to a review of the planning authority in question.

At present, there are significant delays in processing planning applications at An Bord Pleanála due to backlogs. While the board is estimating that it will clear the backlog before the end of the year, sources within the Department of Housing believe that it will be next year before it is completed.

Can I still object to planning applications?

Yes, members of the public will still be permitted to object to planning applications lodged with local authorities. 

The main change here is that judicial reviews cannot be taken unless all available appeal procedures are exhausted first. This means that a person must first lodge an appeal with the planning authority before they are permitted to bring a case to court to prevent the application being granted. 

The grounds on which a person takes a judicial review must also not change beyond what they filed in their appeal with the planning authority.

Additional restrictions are also being placed on residents’ associations bringing judicial reviews. They cannot do so unless they have a constitution and two-thirds of members agree to proceed with a judicial review.

What will change at An Bord Pleanála?

There is a fairly big change at An Bord Pleanála, which will be renamed An Coimisiún Pleanála.

This change will see the current board system dissolved and replaced with a new system that separates out decision-making from corporate roles.

On the planning side, a chief planning officer will be appointed alongside 14 other planning commissioners, to replace the existing chairperson and board members. Governance of the organisation will be headed up by a new executive, overseen by a chief executive and six other members.

What criticisms have been levelled at the bill?

Criticism is coming from local government and planning experts in particular. 

The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) warned that the planning sections contained within the draft bill were difficult to understand and that it would lead to internal conflict between different levels of planning rules.

In particular, the IPI said that this would lead to delays and potentially bad planning decisions.