Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Planning statistics are compiled by each planning authority on an annual basis for collation and publication on my Department’s website. The information requested on the total number of applications and refusals by counties in each of the past three years in both outline permission and planning permission for the period up to and including 2022 is included in the statistics available on my Departments website at:

www.gov.ie/en/service/9e4ee-get-planning-statistics/.

The data is collated on an annual basis and the 2023 data will be available in May 2024.

The data collected relates to the total number of applications and decisions for all developments that require planning permission along with refusals, broken down by year and planning authority. However, more granular data, such as in relation to the number of residential planning applications, is not specifically collected and consequently is not available in my Department. Such information may be sought directly from the relevant planning authority and An Bord Pleanála as appropriate.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) provides detailed data available on a number of planning related matters, including permissions granted by development type and county, on its website. This is updated on a quarterly basis and can be accessed at the following link: www.cso.ie/en/statistics/buildingandconstruction/planningpermissions/.

Updated Rural Housing Guidelines are currently being prepared by my Department. The updated guidelines will expand on the high level spatial planning policy of the National Planning Framework (NPF), in particular on National Policy Objective (NPO) 19 which relates to rural housing. This objective makes a clear policy distinction between rural areas under urban influence (i.e. areas within the commuter catchment of cities, towns and centres of employment) on the one hand, and structurally weaker rural areas where population levels may be low or declining, on the other. NPO 19 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social (intrinsic part of the community) or economic (persons working full or part time) need are to be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.

The draft Rural Housing Guidelines will set out relevant planning criteria to be applied in local authority development plans for rural housing, based on the high level policy framework set by the NPF. The guidelines will continue to allow county development plans to provide for housing in the countryside based on the considerations detailed in NPO 19 of the NPF, and will also highlight the need to manage development in certain areas, such as the areas around cities and larger towns and environmentally sensitive areas, in order to avoid over-development.

While planning policy is a national, as opposed to an EU competence, due care is being taken to ensure the updated guidelines will not operate to conflict with fundamental EU freedoms, comply with EU environmental legislative requirements and have due regard to decisions of the European Court of Justice. The draft planning guidelines will address these complex environmental and legal issues, while also providing a framework for the sustainable management of housing in rural areas.

Having regard to these complex considerations, the draft guidelines are subject to legal review and Ministerial approval, following which it is intended that the draft guidelines will be published for a period of public consultation.