Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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495. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans to ensure Local Area Plans (LAPs) are published in a timely fashion and that out-dated LAPs are updated on time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15800/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The statutory provisions governing the preparation, amendment and revocation of Local Area Plans (LAPs) are primarily found in sections 18, 19 and 20 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The Act provides for the preparation of LAPs on both a discretionary and mandatory basis. Accordingly, a planning authority may decide to prepare an LAP for any part of its functional area which it considers suitable. Typically, an LAP may be prepared on a discretionary basis in the case of areas that are considered to require economic, physical and social renewal, or areas likely to be subject to large scale development.

The 2000 Act provides that an LAP must be prepared in respect of an area which—

(i) is designated as a town in the most recent census of population, other than a town designated as a suburb or environs in that census,

(ii) has a population in excess of 5,000, and

(iii) is situated within the functional area of a planning authority which is a city and county council or a county council.

An LAP is also required to be prepared in respect of a town with a population exceeding 1,500 persons unless the planning authority decides to indicate objectives for the town in its development plan, or a local area plan has already been made in respect of the town.

In addition, two or more planning authorities may co-operate in preparing an LAP in respect of any area which lies within the combined functional area of the authorities concerned.

Further guidance in relation to the preparation of LAPs can be found in section 5.6 of the Development Plans Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2022) and the Local Area Plans Guidelines for Planning Authorities (2013), which were issued by the Minister under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000.

The act of making, amending, extending or revoking a local area plan is a reserved function of the elected members of each local authority. Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001 the Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he/she is responsible, including its planning functions.

In terms of building capacity generally in the local government planning sector, my Department is working in conjunction with the LGMA on a programme of support to provide planning authorities, on a phased basis, with the requisite level of staffing resources and expertise to efficiently and effectively perform their planning functions. In October 2024, my Department published a Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources to respond to capacity challenges in the planning sector. This Action Plan provides a detailed roadmap to increase the pool of planning and related expertise needed to ensure a planning system fit for future needs.

Under Part 3 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 (Act of 2024), amended provisions relating to the preparation and content of development plans, in addition to a new set of area-specific plans, are provided for. The zoning of land will only be undertaken in the city or county development plans, and other area-specific plans (details of which are set out below) will replace the current provisions relating to Local Area Plans. These area-specific plans include: urban area plans, priority area plans and coordinated area plans.

Urban area plans (UAPs) will be developed for a settlement that has been identified in a corresponding development plan and will specify how the ‘settlement-specific objectives’ and the various strategies and statements as set out in the development plan will be implemented in respect of the settlement concerned.

Priority area plans (PAPs) will include similar requirements as those set out above for UAPs and will also be identified under a relevant development plan. However, PAPs will concern settlement-specific objectives for a part of a city that is suitable for significant growth and regeneration and would benefit from being the subject of specific objectives. Where a development plan sets out settlement-specific objectives in respect of any Gaeltacht or inhabited offshore island the relevant planning authority will prepare a PAP for one or more such Gaeltacht or islands.

Coordinated area plans (CAPs) will be similar to the plans outlined above but will be required for an area designated by a regional authority in a regional spatial and economic strategy that is within the functional area of more than one planning authority. CAPs will be prepared by a ‘principal planning authority’ and an ‘associate planning authority’, the designation of which will depend on matters such as town centre locations, urban areas within a given local authority functional area and population or employment growth.

As set out in the Implementation Plan, recently published on my Department’s website (), Part 3 of the Act of 2024 is scheduled to be brought into effect under the second phase of commencements, known as ‘Block B’. It is anticipated that this second phase of commencements will be carried out midyear. Transitional provisions under the Act of 2024 provide for the continuation of any LAPs that are in force at the time of the repeal of the 2000 Act.