John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am pleased to bring the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025 before the House today. Members will recall the size of the Planning and Development Bill 2024, which was enacted last year. Many of us worked extensively on that legislation, both at the joint Oireachtas committee and in both Houses. While the implementation of this Act is a key priority for the Government, it is important that the planning system remain agile and responsive to issues. This is why I am bringing this Bill forward today. I acknowledge the extensive work of my officials who undertook the preparation of the legislation that is before us.

Before I get into the details of the Bill, it is important that I set out the work done since the 2024 Bill was enacted. As many Deputies will be aware, given the scale of the 2024 Act, it is necessary to implement it on a phased basis to facilitate the transition from the arrangements under the current Act to those under the new Act. Two key areas of the Act have been commenced so far. First are the provisions to enable the establishment of An Coimisiún Pleanála, which introduced a comprehensive organisational restructuring that will result in a modernised planning body, fit for the 21st century and with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. Separately, provisions to enable the identification of sites for urban development sones, UDZs, provide for an updated and more flexible approach to the planning and delivery of areas with significant potential for large-scale development and the associated necessary infrastructure, replacing the current provisions that enable the creation of strategic development zones. Further key areas of the Act will be commenced over the remainder of this year, particularly Part 3 relating to the national planning framework, NPF, national planning statements and development plans. Behind the scenes, my Department is preparing new regulations to accompany the 2024 Act and working closely with local authorities and other key stakeholders. A detailed implementation plan has been published that includes a commencement schedule for the Act and a range of initiatives to support training and engagement for the planning sector in preparation for the phased transition to the new legislative framework.

A key element of this work is the review of the current exempted development regulations, which is under way. The majority of our current exemptions from the need for planning permission have been in place since 2001 and it is important that we take the opportunity to review them as part of the development of the new regulations.

Central to this is the need to take account of changing domestic needs and the implications of adapting to climate change, including measures to improve resilience as well as revise standards for infrastructure reinforcement that take account of new and emerging demands. From a housing perspective, I am looking to make it easier for people to adapt their homes to their lifestyle, whether that is by allowing detached units in rear gardens, subdividing existing housing for multigenerational living, or making it easier to upgrade homes.

Another important consideration is the need to deploy resources both technical and administrative within the planning system in the most effective manner and to reduce, where appropriate, the need for planning permission for minor developments. To date, there has been extensive engagement with Departments and key infrastructure providers and their proposals are being considered as part of the review. A wider public consultation will commence very shortly and members of the public, State bodies and all other parties will be able to have their say before the regulations are finalised. The revised regulations will come into effect when Part 4 of the Act has commenced, however it may be necessary to prioritise measures around slurry storage and detached modular homes ahead of Part 4 commencement.

While reforming our planning legislation is key, we must also look at resourcing across the planning system. That has been raised by many Deputies over the past number of weeks. This is being addressed in parallel and a ministerial action plan is being implemented, with five key theme areas to enhance the capacity of the local government system and An Coimisiún Pleanála, as well as other key measures.

Government has also approved and published the revised national planning framework, which will create the conditions for accelerated housing delivery across the country. It will give clarity to local authorities on translating the revised housing requirements at a national level to local development plan level in order to identify the quantum of zoned land that will be required to increase our housing output. In this regard, we will be giving this detail to local authorities very shortly but in the interim, the Minister, Deputy Browne, has written to local authorities advising them to commence the variation process.

That brings me to the measures I wish to introduce as part of this Bill. The Government is committed to enabling the delivery of much-needed housing and addressing any issues that arise as quickly as possible and in a proactive manner. There is evidence there are a significant number of planning permissions for housing that are due to expire shortly that have not yet commenced. While planning permission is an essential step in any project, there are other factors that may impact on the commencement of a project, such as the availability of development finance, other economic factors such as market viability, infrastructure constraints, or phasing. Permissions of all types have also been delayed due to judicial review proceedings, which were outside the control of the holder of the permission but in many cases have resulted in a minimum time left to commence the development once a judicial review has concluded.

The substantial increase in judicial reviews has had an impact on larger developments in particular. For example, the number of all legal cases involving An Coimisiún Pleanála has grown from 41 in 2018 to 143 in 2024. Residential data for the Dublin region for the end of 2024 also highlighted these issues, when there were 40,112 uncommenced residential units on 265 wholly-inactive development sites within Dublin. Of these, the average time period that remained to estimated permission expiry date was 2.9 years. It is estimated that approximately 15,000 of these units are due to expire within the next two years. An Coimisiún Pleanála figures show that just under 19,000 units over 52 sites were either subject to judicial review and subsequently permitted, or remain in judicial review over the past five years. Of these, almost 16,000 units have been permitted notwithstanding the judicial review process and just over 3,000 units are still subject to ongoing proceedings. In all of these cases, the duration of the permission has been eroded due to judicial review proceedings. This Bill will address expiring permissions to encourage their activation through focused and timebound measures.

The Bill amends section 42 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to allow holders of permission for housing developments that have not yet commenced to apply for an extension of duration of the permission for up to three years, provided that an EIA is not required. Currently, an application for an extension of duration can be made only for developments that have been commenced and are substantially complete. By allowing holders of permissions to apply before the commencement of the development, it will address the issue of permissions that do not have enough time left to commence and be substantially complete before applying for an extension. Such an application will only apply to housing developments with fewer than two years left on the duration of the permission.

The application for the extension of duration must be made within six months of the commencement of the legislation and the development must commence within 18 months of the commencement of the legislation. This is to encourage the activation of the development and the delivery of additional housing in line with existing permissions. A further application for an extension of up to two years may be made once the development is substantially complete. This is to allow time to complete the development. Where there is more than two years left on the duration of the permission, there is still adequate time for the development to commence and an application for an extension to be applied for in the normal manner.

Section 42 of the Act of 2000 will expire in October 2027 as the Planning and Development Act 2024 provides that it will continue to operate as a transitional measure until three years after the passing of the Act. At that date, the extension of duration provisions in the Act of 2024 will come into effect. On that basis, this new provision will also expire in October 2027.

The Bill extends the judicial review provisions of the new Act. Section 180 of the 2024 Act provides that the holder of a permission can apply to suspend the duration of the permission while it is subject to a judicial review. The aim of this provision, which only applies to new permissions, is to ensure that time is not lost on a permission where it has been subject to judicial review and that the full duration of the permission is available if the permission is upheld.

This Bill introduces provisions that allow holders of all permissions that have already been through the judicial review process to apply to a planning authority for a retrospective suspension of the permission for the period of the judicial review. At the moment the clock does not stop on a duration when the permission is subject to a judicial review. For example, if a permission granted in July 2022 was subject to a judicial review which took two years to complete, but in respect of which the decision was upheld, it would now get those two years back in terms of time left. It is appropriate to allow this retrospective suspension as the delay due to judicial review was outside the control of holder of the permission. In almost all cases where a permission is subject to judicial review, no development takes place while the judicial review is under way due to the risk that the permission can be overturned. However, this provision will not apply in the very small number of cases where development did commence. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, will take Members through the rest of the provisions.

See this speech in context