Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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649. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the steps being taken to streamline zoning and planning approval for housing projects; whether delays are contributing to inflated costs and restricted supply; and if consideration will be given to legislative changes to accelerate delivery. [47952/25]

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Planning and Development Act 2024 (Act of 2024) was enacted in October 2024 and is in the process of being commenced. The Act of 2024 introduces a range of measures to streamline the planning process.

The Act of 2024 introduces statutory time periods for decision making for An Coimisiún Pleanála (An Coimisiún) for the first time. The headline time periods for An Coimisiún will range from 18 weeks for appeals of decisions of planning authorities to 48 weeks for larger-scale Strategic Infrastructure Developments. The varying timelines reflect the differing complexities of applications dealt with by An Coimisiún.

The Act of 2024 also makes important reforms in relation to Judicial Review (JR). It:

• removes the requirement to apply for leave to apply for JR proceedings which reduces time and removes unnecessary additional legal costs to all parties.

• requires that an application for JR may only be made on the grounds of challenge raised by the applicant in the statement of grounds filed with their application and sets out limited criteria by which the Court may allow subsequent amendments to that statement of grounds.

• provides that an applicant for JR will not be permitted to plead a ground in JR proceedings unless they have a sufficient interest in the matter to which the ground relates.

The Act of 2024 introduces a new procedure to deal with “spurious” planning submissions and appeals, set out at Section 588. Submissions on planning applications, appeals of applications and judicial reviews must be accompanied by a statutory declaration stating that the submission or appeal is not being done for the purposes of delaying a development or for receiving a payment. A declaration must also be made when withdrawing a submission, appeal or a judicial review. Penalties are also introduced in respect of anyone making a false declaration.

Given the recent enactment of the Act of 2024 and the legislative changes to be introduced, I have no plans at this time to bring forward further planning legislation in relation to planning approval for housing projects. I am satisfied that the new statutory time periods for An Coimisiún, along with the JR reforms and mandatory declaration procedures set out at section 588 of the Act of 2024 will contribute significantly to the operation of the planning process.

My Department is in the processes of commencing of the Act of 2024 on a phased basis to facilitate the transition to the new legislation across the planning system, taking into account the need to liaise with local authorities, planning bodies and other stakeholders. It should be noted that the existing provisions in the Act of 2000 will remain in place until repealed and the relevant provisions in the Act of 2024 are commenced. A detailed implementation plan is available at www.gov.ie/planning.