Peter Roche (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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17. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the methods his Department is currently assessing to speed up the planning process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53744/25]

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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My Department has overseen considerable legislative and structural reform of the Irish planning system over the past two years.

The National Planning Framework (NPF) has been reviewed to reflect Ireland’s housing and infrastructure goals associated with a growing population and economy, and provides the planning system with a strategic plan to shape the future growth and development of our Country to 2040.

The Planning and Development Act 2024 (the Act) represents the most significant update of planning legislation in a quarter century and contains many impactful reforms.

The Act introduces statutory time periods for decision making for An Coimisiún Pleanála (An Coimisiún) for the first time. Increased resource allocation to An Coimisiún Pleanála has reduced number of cases on hands from 3,638 in May 2023 to 1,362 cases in July 2025, which is a 62.5% decrease. In terms of processing timelines, all large Scale Residential Development applications (100 units or more) have met their statutory objective period target of 16 weeks, since September 2024. The average number of weeks to dispose such cases was 9 weeks by May 2025.

The new Act also makes important reforms in relation to Judicial Review (JR):-

• removing the requirement to apply for leave to apply for JR, which reduces time and removes unnecessary 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.
• 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.