The Irish Planning Institute has today called on the Government to restructure local authority planning departments around the country and to ramp up recruitment as an immediate priority if planning delays are to be averted and the current opportunities for economic growth not missed.

The call was made following the publication of a national survey of the planning profession—the first since the height of the boom—which shows that the number of planners in local authorities has decreased by a third. The report was launched by the Irish Planning Institute, which this year celebrates its 40th anniversary, at its annual conference in Cork.

The conference was officially opened by Paudie Coffey TD, Minister for Housing, Planning and Co-ordination of the Construction 2020 Strategy, and sees contributions from Michael O’Flynn, MD of the O’Flynn Group on the role of planning from a developer perspective, as well as from representatives of Irish Water on its work and the implications for development and from the Office of Public Works on flood risk.

Amongst the findings of the survey were:

• There has been a cut in the number of planners employed by local authorities, from 607 in 2006, to 415 currently, with the State losing nearly 1 in 3 professional planning roles
• Non-planners outnumber planners in the State’s local authority planning departments with 415 planners of a total planning staff complement of 904In relation to private sector planning consultancies, there has been a 37 per cent decline in planners in this sector.
• However, the report found that of 60 planning consultancies surveyed, more than three in five state that business has improved over the last six months and with a slightly higher number expecting it to be better over the next six months. For four in five consultancies, confidence in the Irish economy is also higher now than it was six months ago

Addressing the conference Paudie Coffey TD, Minister for Housing, Planning and Coordination of the Construction 2020 Strategy, said:

“We are moving forward beyond the economic crisis management ethos of the past few years into a careful rebuilding of capacity, which needs to allow for efficient and effective resourcing.”

The Minister added “that planning is not just about process, planning is about outcomes, for people, for their places. We need to keep planning clear and simple in its aims, understandable in its language and supported by the wider public, which means listening to local communities and focusing on what planning does best. Building great quality places, both urban and rural that people enjoy living in, working in and enjoying leisure time.”

Mary Hughes, President of the Irish Planning Institute, believes that if public confidence is to be restored in our planning system, then it will need to be adequately resourced. 

“We know that Ireland is now the fastest-growing economy in Europe and this growth is evident in the increase in planning applications nationally. While this is obviously very good news, we need to ensure that planning is effectively resourced so that we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. There are more non-planners than there are professional planners in our planning departments today with our survey showing that the number of planners in local authorities having decreased by 32 per cent. This is completely disproportionate to reductions in other staff roles when compared with the 23 per cent reduction in overall local authority staff numbers since 2008, according to the most recent figures available.1

“Planners will soon see additional statutory duties arising from new planning legislation to support the Government’s Construction 2020 strategy, including administering the new Vacant Site Levy. A balanced return to growth must be supported by a well-resourced planning system in order to ensure that the correct decisions are made in a timely fashion. The Irish Planning Institute is therefore calling on local authorities and Government to re-examine the structure of their planning departments and to ensure a full complement of professional planners is in place. It is only by doing this that public confidence in the planning system will be assured.”

“Furthermore, we also need to address the fact that the term ‘planner’ is often used to describe all those involved in the planning process including administrators, lobbyists and other professions. This confuses the role of the professional planner and has resulted in the planning profession being wrongly accused for issues arising from the Planning Tribunal and Ireland’s recent period of economic boom and bust. The term should only be used to refer to individuals who are qualified planning professionals and members of a professional body and it’s important that we recognise that.”

Seán O’Leary, Executive Director of the Irish Planning Institute, adds:

“We need to ensure coherent and joined-up planning in building a competitive economy, but also in ensuring our environment is protected and that we build strong communities. We need to ensure that planners are included as key partners in decisions being made by local government and other partners. We need to ensure that our enforcement sections are fit for purpose, that building control regulations are effectively and rigorously enforced and that conditions that apply to permissions are implemented. These responsibilities cannot happen without appropriate resources.

“There needs to be an informed political understanding of proper planning and development standards. Our bottom line must always be focused on the common good and on developing sustainable communities where the focus is on maximum quality of life and of living.”