Ministerial action plan on planning resources published
- Detailed roadmap to increase the pool of planning expertise and to bring new talent forward to meet present and future needs
- Aligned to new landmark legislation for the planning system
- Identifies a number of key actions to ensure that we have a planning system to deliver on our priorities in the years ahead
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD and Minister of State for Local Government and Planning Alan Dillon TD, today published a ‘Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources’ that provides a detailed roadmap to increase the pool of planning and related expertise needed to ensure a planning system fit for future needs.
A well-resourced, sustainable and robust planning system is critically important to support Ireland’s growth. Requirements on the system will grow with the enactment of the landmark Planning and Development Bill 2023 which provides for greater clarity, consistency and certainty for all users. The Action Plan published today sets out a detailed roadmap to meet present and future needs and has been developed in partnership with the sector.
Publishing the plan, Minister O’Brien emphasised:
“The publication of this Action Plan is timely in light of our ongoing programme of reform – particularly the approval of the landmark Planning and Development Bill 2023 by the Houses of the Oireachtas last week. We now have planning laws that match our strong ambitions for housing delivery and critical infrastructure over the coming decades.
“However, we also need the professional experts to turn our ambitions into reality. It is clear that a well-resourced planning system is critical to support the requirements on the system that have grown in recent years and the needs of the new legislation. I am committed to ensuring that we have a system that can deliver on our priorities in the years ahead and this plan is another vital piece in the planning jigsaw that will ensure that we can fully deliver on investment and decision-making in housing and critical infrastructure”.
Issuing the Action Plan, the Minister of State for Local Government and Planning Alan Dillon TD said:
“I have always said that working hand in glove with the new planning legislation will be the additional resources we need to implement it and to that end the extra funding I secured in Budget 2025 will help to make sure our planning system, including An Bord Pleanála and our local planning authorities, has the staff and resources to underpin this transformation.
“This Action Plan will make Ireland’s planning system fighting fit for the future. Working with stakeholders and planning experts, we have identified the key actions necessary to enable a serious ramping up in the numbers employed in planning. Whether it is creating more avenues for professional training, enticing Irish professionals abroad to return home or making planning a more attractive career option, we will leave no stone unturned when seeking to build the planning workforce we need for the Ireland of tomorrow.”
A full copy of the Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources can be accessed here:
