Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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690. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the density and height assumptions used in setting regional delivery targets; whether these assumptions vary for Cork City and Cork County; and the basis for these planning assumptions. [63968/25]

John Cummins (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The National Planning Framework (NPF), which was first published in 2018 and was revised in 2025, sets out the need to plan for increased population and housing growth, and a spatial strategy to guide the future development of the country to 2040. The Revised NPF (April 2025) sets out the need to plan for the delivery of an average of approximately 50,000 additional housing units per annum to 2040. The strategy includes population targets for the regions and cities and in July 2025, the NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines were issued to local authorities, including Cork City Council and Cork County Council. The Guidelines set out local authority level housing requirements that are required to be reflected in development plans, through variation of the relevant plans.

The NPF has, since 2018, also includes policies and objectives relating to ‘compact growth’, setting out the need to promote a more compact and sustainable approach to development patterns to counteract decades of sprawl.

In support of the NPF objectives, the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, were issued as Ministerial Guidelines in January 2024, under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). Planning authorities are required to have regard to these guidelines in performing their functions under the Act, and to apply any Specific Planning Policy Requirements contained within the Guidelines.

The Settlement Guidelines state that to achieve compact growth, it will also be necessary to increase the scale of new buildings in all parts of our cities and towns, with highest densities at the most central and accessible urban locations, particularly in city centres and close to public transport nodes and interchanges. The Settlement Guidelines contain density ranges that respond to settlement size (e.g. cities, towns and villages), general locality in each settlement (i.e. central areas, urban neighbourhoods and suburban areas/areas of urban extension) and access to public transport services. In smaller settlements, the Settlement Guidelines state that densities may be tailored to reflect local characteristics.

The Settlement Guidelines state that all density ranges should be further refined with regard to centrality and accessibly to services, public transport and site-specific considerations regarding character, amenity and the natural environment. This approach provides planning authorities with a degree of flexibility so they can operate a plan-led approach and take the circumstances of a plan area or an individual site into account as part of the decision making processes prescribed under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), or relevant parts of the Planning and Development Act 2024, once commenced.

Building heights are the subject of separate guidance contained within the Urban Development and Building Heights Guidelines, issued in December 2018 under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended). The Building Height Guidelines expand on higher-level policies of the National Planning Framework to encourage compact growth through increased building heights in urban areas. The Building Height Guidelines set out strategic policy considerations and performance criteria for determining appropriate locations for taller buildings.

Section 2 of the Building Height Guidelines states that the preparation of development plans, local area plans and Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) Planning Schemes and their implementation in city, metropolitan and wider urban areas must be proactive and flexible in securing compact urban growth through a combination of facilitating both increased densities and building heights. Section 3 of the Building Height Guidelines states that when assessing individual planning applications and appeals, there should be presumption in favour of buildings of increased height at suitable locations. In support of these objectives the Building Height Guidelines also set out development management criteria requiring applicants to demonstrate that a proposed development is of a scale that is appropriate for its location based on proximity to transport services, local context, density requirements, design quality and environmental impact.