Professionals working in the Irish planning sector must “stand-up” for their profession, while working together in an evidence-led way to help solve the capacity challenges facing the state, the Irish Planning Institute’s annual conference in Salthill, Co Galway has heard.

In his address to 400 delegates attending the annual conference, President of the Irish Planning Institute, Gavin Lawlor, said the planning system had become the “scapegoat” for every issue related to housing, infrastructure and other areas of the economy.

Acknowledging that planning practice must continue to evolve in an evidence-led manner, Lawlor said more KPIs are needed for successful planning, going beyond the number of housing units delivered each year.

He said that while the revised National Planning Framework adopted by Government this week was welcome, it should have been completed more quickly once issues with its implementation had become apparent.

Lawlor noted that the process to integrate the revised National Planning Framework reflected into regional and local strategies and plans had yet to begin, meaning any benefits of the changes will not be felt this year. He warned the consistent negative commentary against the planning system was amplifying a staffing crisis within the sector, where less and less people are choosing planning as a career.

“We need to stand up for the planning profession and challenge why planning is everyone’s whipping boy and scapegoat for issues around housing, infrastructure and everything else,” Lawlor said.

“We regularly hear from the political system – particularly at national level – that planning, and by extension planners, is a problem, and the source of all our housing and infrastructure issues. I don’t believe that. I believe that planners solve problems and do not create them.

“Around the world there’s fewer people choosing planning as a career. Would you encourage your son or daughter or niece or nephew to train to be a planner when all they’ll hear is they’re part of the problem?,” he said, adding that the combination of rapidly changing public policy and legislation, combined with public and political scrutiny, and relentless deadlines, was creating wellbeing implications for planning staff around the country.

Planning Judgement

The 2025 annual conference of the Irish Planning Institute, the all-island professional membership organisation for spatial planners, takes place following the enactment last year of the new Planning and Development Act 2024.

Keynote speakers at this year event, which takes place in the Salthill Hotel, include Peter Mullan, chair of An Bord Pleanála, Leonard Cleary, chief executive of Galway City Council, Emer O’Callaghan, Planning Lead at the Land Development Agency, and Ciarán Cuffe, the former Green Party MEP, TD and Minister for State, and a qualified planner.

Despite the promised reforms of the new planning act, Lawlor said the professional judgement of planners has been repeatedly undermined over recent years, particularly in relation to a number of judicial review judgments.

“We as a profession need to be better at explaining and defending planning judgement and we also need to publicly stand up for it,” Lawlor told the Irish Planning Institute’s annual conference.

“There have been a number of very high-profile judicial review decisions in recent years, which stray into planning judgement. In particular, judgements are now straying into areas around the visual impact of a project, residential amenity or proper planning guidelines, which goes beyond what the judicial review mechanism was ever designed for.

“This undermines respect for the professional judgement of planners and other experts, and increasingly these decisions set precedents for how plans and policies are interpreted, while sowing doubt and uncertainty about the status of existing development plans, guidelines or planning judgement,” he added.

“Ultimately, our planning system must have faith in the professional planners that are trained to interpret the multitude of planning policies and laws, while taking a range of issues into account before making value judgements in a fair and impartial manner using their knowledge and expertise, in the interest of the common good.

ENDS

About the Irish Planning Institute

Founded in 1975, the Irish Planning Institute is the all-island professional body representing professional planners engaged in physical, spatial and environmental planning in Ireland and Irish planners practicing overseas.

The Irish Planning Institute, which celebrates its 50^th anniversary this year, represents over 1,000 planners across the public and private sector, including planners working in Local Authorities, Academia, An Bord Pleanála, Central Government, Regional Assemblies, Private Practice Consultancies, Property Developers and Semi-State organisations.