Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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22. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of vacancies in all local authority planning departments, by local authority, in tabular form; the steps being taken to fill these posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35845/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Under Section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each 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 and the requested information would be available directly from each local authority.

On 15 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.

Analysis conducted through the Local Government Management Association (LGMA) in conjunction with my Department, of resources in local government planning departments in 2022, identified a need for 541 new full-time permanent technical and non-technical posts in local authority planning departments. This represented an average increase of 35% on 2022 staffing levels. This is in addition to a vacancy rate at the time of established posts in planning departments of approximately 10%. This vacancy rate included administration grades, non planning staff as well as planners.

Funding was secured in Budget 2025 to support delivery of the Action Plan. In October 2023, my Department conveyed approval for the filling of a first tranche of 101 posts, in the local authority planning sector. A further approval issued in January 2025 for a second tranche of 112 additional posts - 56 graduate planner posts and 56 staff officer posts.

Numerous actions have been completed to date. A coordinated national graduate planner recruitment campaign was launched on 13 May 2025 to attract graduate planners into Ireland’s Local Authorities (Action 4). The occupation of town planner has been added to the Critical Skills Occupation List (Action 9) which will allow eligible non-EEA professionals from outside of Europe to benefit from streamlined employment permit processes, making it easier for Irish employers to recruit and retain international talent in this vital sector.