Edward Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening. I want to discuss the individual county council building targets from 2025 to 2030 and the actuals from 2020 to 2024. The national planning framework needs to be finalised. I have been raising this since I came here and, prior to that, in my time as a county councillor. Coincidentally, a first revision was published today. I hope it can be put through the Houses of the Oireachtas quickly.

The delay so far is preventing much-needed house building because the current plan is based on outdated population figures and is preventing planning permission approvals. Recently, in Blessington, County Wicklow, planning for 335 houses, supported by Wicklow County Council, was refused by An Bord Pleanála because the town plan had not been updated. This update was not possible because the national planning framework had not been updated. Red tape stopped 335 houses in west Wicklow. This existing framework is based on the 2016 census, which is way out of date.

In the County Wicklow development plan of 2022, on which I made 48 submissions, we had the bizarre situation where many towns had their residential zonings dezoned at a time when we all knew there was a housing shortage. Additionally, the new framework needs to allow headroom, which was used previously in zoning guidelines to take account of the fact that many zoned lands are unlikely to be developed for a variety of reasons. It is really important that we have significant headroom in the new plan. Browsing through it today, there was no mention of headroom. I presume that percentage will follow, and I hope it will be a significant figure. The limiting of zoned land to exact population targets means that, in practice, there is not enough zoned land, thus preventing planning grants for much-needed housing. This restrictive and inflexible policy has led to much dezoning in a time of housing shortage.

The current targets for Wicklow are clearly way too low. For this year, they are 1,411 houses, dropping to 969 in 2028 and to 528 in 2029 and 2030. Clearly, that is not fit for purpose. From a national perspective, councils must be closely involved in the delivery of housing. Delivery must be micromanaged. These targets must be drilled down further, with monthly figures produced by all local authorities of actuals versus targets and explanations given. This is the only way to deliver large numbers of houses. The Minister must then meet the CEOs of the councils and the heads of planning quarterly. This method is exactly how a business would aim to achieve its target.

Furthermore, I wish to make a suggestion on expired local area plans. Currently, if someone appeals planning permission that has been granted, An Bord Pleanála will refuse on the grounds that the local area plans are out of date. Will the Minister of State consider giving expired local area plans legal status or extending their lifetime to avoid such refusals until such time as they are updated? Because the challenge is the forward planning units in the county councils, the county councils will have to choose between updating local area plans or updating the county development plans. My suggestion could avoid that resource issue. In any case, the forward planning units need guidelines from the Minister. In Wicklow, some local area plans have expired and I am aware of the same issue in other counties including Kildare and Wexford. How long will this review of the local area plans in the county development plans take? Normally, this process takes nine months. Is there any way we can expedite this? The targets for each town should not be a cap as it currently operates.

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