Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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278. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government when the rural, Gaeltacht and islands planning guidelines will be published. [22850/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Since the publication of the current Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines in 2005 (which continue to have effect in addition to subsequent clarifications and national policy changes in the National Planning Framework) there have been important changes to our planning system. Most notably, obligations under European Directives and international agreements relating to the management and protection of the environment and adapting to and mitigating climate change have become more central to the operation of the planning system.

Updated Rural Housing Guidelines are currently being considered 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) 28 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, large 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 28 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social or economic 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 28 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.

The Planning and Development Act 2000 as amended, sets out mandatory objectives for local authorities, which must be addressed in the drafting of their Development Plan governing local development policies. Where there is a Gaeltacht area within the planning authority’s administrative area, the development plan must include provisions and objectives for “the protection of the linguistic and cultural heritage of the Gaeltacht including the promotion of Irish as the community language”.

The Development Plans Guidelines for Local Authorities published in July 2022 give further guidance to local authorities, including reflecting the Gaeltacht Language Planning Areas (Limistéar Pleanála Teanga – LPTs as required under the Gaeltacht Act 2012) as well as the inclusion of further policies such as ensuring that development proposals in Gaeltacht areas have a positive impact on the linguistic and cultural heritage that can be robustly assessed at planning application stage.

An Interdepartmental Group (comprising my Department, the Department of Rural, Community Development and the Gaeltacht (DRCDG) and Údarás na Gaeltachta) is still continuing its work in developing specific planning guidance for Gaeltacht areas. There is also a separate Working Group made up of both Departments and Údarás na Gaeltachta and the relevant local authorities with Gaeltacht areas. Interdepartmental Group and Working Group meetings took place in 2023 and bilateral Departmental engagement continued into 2024 and is ongoing.

Having regard to the need to consider the complex matters involved and further to engagement with the Department of Rural, Community Development and the Gaeltacht, finalised draft guidelines will be subject to mandatory screening under EU law for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), as well as for the purposes of Appropriate Assessment (AA). It is intended that, in consultation with DRCDG, subject to the outcome of the screening exercises, the draft guidelines will then be published for public consultation.

Our Living Islands – National Islands Policy 2023-2033, which comes under the remit of my colleague the Minister for Rural and Community Development, sets out the Government’s ambition to ensure our offshore islands continue to support sustainable and vibrant communities and allow for a continuing sustainable tourism product. The policy’s initial Action Plan 2023 – 2026, sets out numerous actions under the five strategic objectives:

• Revitalise population levels on the islands;
• Diversify island economics;
• Enhance health and wellbeing services;
• Empower island communities;
• Build smart sustainable futures.