12^th July 2022: The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) today notes that the Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022 is currently before Dáil Éireann. Discussing the Bill, IPI President Mary Mac Mahon said:

“Overall, this Bill is about technical changes, clarifying well-signalled practice issues that cannot wait for the review of the Planning Acts underway by the Attorney General’s office. The Institute welcomes the proposed amendments by the Minister to restrict the advertisement and operation of short-term letting without the necessary planning permission or planning exemption.

However, there are some outstanding issues that urgently need to be addressed – such as our members’ concerns about how existing Strategic Housing Development (SHD) permissions can be amended without entering the new Large-scale Residential Development (LRD) process.

In addition to this, there are concerns about the two-stage design process proposed and the level of detail which can be agreed post-consent while meeting environmental assessment requirements, which must be revisited in the overall planning reform package which is forthcoming.

Finally, it is vital that we encourage, rather than reduce, public engagement and community involvement in all stages of the planning process and amendments to already complex planning law should always be evidence based. The IPI maintains that the most effective means of reducing the costs and delay often associated with Judicial Reviews on planning matters, is to establish a well-resourced court that specialises in planning matters (ideally a Planning and Environmental Court, or a division of the High Court).”

(Ends)

Notes to the Editor

The Irish Planning Institute is the largest professional body for spatial planners operating on the island of Ireland and was established in 1975.

The Irish Planning Institute draws its membership of 1000 professional planners from every Local Authority, An Bord Pleanála, Semi-State bodies, Central Government, and the Private Sector.