The Irish planning system must be viewed in the socio-economic context through a prism of significant sustained economic and population growth within an open and globalised market economy. It is a regulatory system where the development of land requires planning permission and development is principally developer-led. It operates at national, regional and local level, using statutory and non-statutory plans and implementation tools, while applying vertical and horizontal coordination mechanisms (see Figure: Planning system and development approval process in Ireland; see Figure: Planning System of Ireland). The Irish planning system is in continuous evolution and as such it is a dynamic system, which is open to innovation and flexibility (Appendix Factors and influences on the Irish planning system 1960-present). The introduction of the Planning and Development Act 2000 on the regional tier in the spatial planning hierarchy and its refinement in 2014, made operational in 2015, is an example of that innovation.

The initial enthusiasm for town planning before the Second World War, when planning legislation based on the English town planning model was introduced in Ireland, did not materialise in tangible results. In the post-war period the first government programme for economic expansion (1959–63) set ambitious economic targets and physical planning was intended to play a role in promoting growth (O’Leary 2014). In the 1960’s, the renaissance of planning related directly to the perception that good planning and well-planned and attractive environments were a catalyst for economic and industrial expansion (Bannon 1985). The United Nation’s Programme of Technical Assistance played a significant role in the institutionalisation of formal spatial planning in Ireland at this time.  

The Local Government (Planning and Development) Act of 1963, which came into force on 1 October 1964, introduced a regulatory planning system. This new planning law established that the development of land and buildings required planning permission. The designated planning authorities were mandated to prepare statutory development plans (policy frameworks with zoning). The regulatory aspect of the legislation was balanced with pro-active provisions allowing local authorities to stimulate and instigate development through development agencies. Notwithstanding these pro-active provisions, the development control or regulatory function became dominant and the dual function of the legislation was not effectively implemented. 

Towards the end of 20th century, an urban regeneration model supported by the Urban Renewal Act 1986 and financial tax-based incentives played a central role in urban development in Ireland. In consequence, public and private investment was channelled into under-utilised land in urban cores rather than peripheral locations without strategic direction. However, critics of this ‘multiple mini-visions’ approach to development did not view the central government sponsored approach of fragmented planning as an alternative to wider, comprehensive planning strategies (Bartley 2007). 

Williams and Nedovic-Budic (2020) provide an overview of the Irish planning system from the mid-20th century, phasing its evolution into three periods: 1960s–1999, 2000–2015 and 2016 to the present (Appendix Factors and influences on the Irish planning system 1960-present).

The Planning and Development Act 2000 (and as amended)
The 2000 Planning and Development Act – ‘the Principal Act’ – represented a significant amending and consolidating of planning legislation (Grist 2012). The objective was to create a planning system for the twenty-first century that would be strategic and that would embed sustainable development (O’Leary, 2014). The legislation introduced a plan-led system that aims to ensure proper planning, strategic and sustainable development through a hierarchy of inter-related and complementary plans and guidelines at national, regional and local levels (Williams/Nedovic-Budic 2020). The ‘Principal Act’ has been amended several times and is complemented by ministerial guidance documents, principally issued under Section 28 of the Act, and regulations.

The ‘Principal Act’ introduced the concept of national spatial planning. The National Spatial Strategy (NSS) published in 2002 (Department of the Environment and Local Government, DELG, 2002), incorporated key European ideas and concepts of spatial planning into the Irish planning system (Walsh, 2007). The Act introduced the requirement for planning authorities to have regard to regional planning guidance in the preparation of their development plans (Planning and Development Act 2000, Section 27). However, the courts subsequently clarified the efficacy of the provision, which was not to be interpreted as rigid adherence, including for the purposes of the zoning of land in development plans (Grist 2012). 

In the context of the global financial crisis (2009), there was a banking and credit crisis in Ireland instigating a large-scale property crash (2006/7–2013/4). In the years before the crash, over-zoning – in particular the zoning of residential land – became a key feature of development plans (Grist 2012). In 1993, a total of 21,391 new residential units were built, growing steadily year on year to peak at 88,419 units in 2006; this provided a housing supply greater than demographic demand (Hearne et al. 2014). Consequent to the property crash and the legacy of over-zoning, there was significant modification of the ‘Principal Act’. In 2010 and subsequently, amendments to the Act increased the role of central government and reduced the role of local authorities and their elected members in planning matters, including restricting the discretion to zone development land.

The concept of ‘core strategies’ was introduced into the development plan in 2010. The core strategy provides an evidence base for zoning and requires the strategy to show consistency with national and regional strategies and population targets (Planning and Development (Amendment Act) 2010). In 2018, the ‘Principal Act’ was further amended to provide for the national planning framework (NPF). The amendment legislation provides for vertical coordination between the NPF and the regional spatial and economic strategies (RSESs) and county and city development plans (Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2018). The amendment also provided for the establishment of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) to ensure, inter alia, consistency in the implementation of the plan hierarchy (P & D (Amendment) Act, 2018). In consequence, central administrative control has become a major feature of the local and regional policy frameworks in Ireland with vertical coordination fully enforced (Williams/Nedovic-Budic 2020).

Constitutional framework (property rights)
The ownership of private property is a right guaranteed by the Constitution (Bunreacht na Éireann). Article 43 of the Constitution establishes the right to the ownership of private property and protects the institution of property ownership, while Article 40(3) protects the citizen’s personal property. Article 43(2) recognises that social justice may require the delimitation of these rights, clarifying that private property ownership is not absolute. In practice, the legislature (Oireachtas) has a wide discretionary power to restrict property owners in the use of their private property and frequently exercises that discretion in the interests of the common good. In 1964, the introduction of the regulatory planning system placed significant limitations on the exercise of the rights of private property and subsequent legislation has broadened that limitation (see the Supplemental Information for more details on constitutional property rights).

Third party rights of observation and the right to appeal
A feature of the Irish planning system is the facilitation of third party rights both as part of the plan making process and the development management process. In development management, a third party, on making written observations and payment of a modest fee, has the right to appeal the decision of the planning authority by making an application to An Bord Pleanála (the Planning Board). The third party can be any citizen, public or private entity, company, as well as a non-profit interest or advocacy group. Being located within the proximity of the proposed development is not required for a third party to make a written observation or subsequently appeal a planning decision. 

National level
The government and, more specifically, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH), are responsible for national planning policy and legislation. The department disseminates policy through mandatory and discretionary ministerial guidelines (Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), Section 28 and 29). The department is responsible for preparing the National Planning Framework (NPF) and monitoring its implementation (P&D 2000 (as amended), Section 20A). There is a comprehensive suite of guidance documents at national level to guide plan preparation and development management, e.g. Urban Development and Building Height Guidelines for Planning Authorities (DGLGH 2018) and Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments – Guidelines for Planning Authorities (DGLGH 2020). Furthermore, guidance may contain specific planning policy requirements (SPPRs) (Planning and Development (Amendment) Act, 2015, Section 2) with which planning authorities, regional assemblies and the An Bord Pleanála (Planning Board) must comply in the performance of their functions.

An Bord Pleanála (Planning Board)
The planning review board, An Bord Pleanála, was established in 1977 to determine appeals on planning applications, which had previously been determined by central government. An Bord Pleanála is a statutory body reporting to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Part VI). Since its establishment, the functions of An Bord Pleanála have been augmented incrementally, including jurisdiction in critical areas of the regulatory planning function and other matters. In 2007, the Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) process was initiated as a division of An Bord Pleanála, which provides for the determination of strategic infrastructure development, including major roads and railway projects, by the board in the first instance (P&D (Strategic Infrastructure) Act, 2006, Section 19). In 2017, the procedure for all large residential planning applications (100 units or greater) was centralised in the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) process, albeit on a temporary basis (P & D (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act, 2016) (see Supplemental Information for more details about SHD).

The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR)
A key objective of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) is to ensure policy consistency between the national, regional and local levels of the statutory planning hierarchy. The OPR (https://www.opr.ie/about/) has powers to investigate systemic issues in the planning process and to examine the operations and functions of planning authorities. The OPR also has an education, research and training function. The OPR conducts education and training programmes for members of planning authorities and regional assemblies in respect of their role under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) and for the staff of local government in relation to matters associated with proper planning and sustainable development. 

Regional level
The regional assemblies may prepare a regional spatial and economic strategy (RSES) for their regions (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 21). RSESs have been prepared for the three regions: EMRA RSES 2019–2031 (https://emra.ie/final-rses/), NWRA RSES 2020–2032 (https://www.nwra.ie/rses/) and SRA RSES 2020–2032 (https://www.southernassembly.ie/regional-planning/rses).  The objective of the RSES is to support the implementation of the NPF (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 23). The policies and objectives of the RSESs are binding on the lower order county and city development plans and any local area plan (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 27). The review of Local Economic and Community Plans (LECPs) is required in order to align with the RSES. 

Local level
The local authorities – counties, cities and cities & counties, all of which are planning authorities – must prepare ‘land use plans’ that comprise a mandatory development plan for their functional area (county or city) and local area plans (LAPs), which are mandatory for settlements with populations over 5000. A local authority must prepare a development plan (policy framework with zoning) for its functional area and has discretion in the preparation of local area plans (LAPs) for settlements with a population of 5,000 or less. These plans are adopted by the elected members of the local authority after the completion of a statutory participative plan making process. The LAP must be consistent with the policies and objectives of the development plan. The local authority is mandated to prepare a development plan every six years (P&D 2000 (as amended), Section 9). (See Supplemental Information and Fact Sheets for detail.)

Municipal District level
The elected members in the Municipal District can make a decision in relation to adopting or revoking a local area plan (LAP). However, the preparation of an LAP at Municipal District level is not mandatory. 

The operation of the regulatory planning system 
The regulatory planning function comprises the development management process: adjudication on development proposals submitted by an applicant for planning permission either to a territorial planning authority or in the instance of strategic development to the An Bord Pléanala (Planning Review Board) (see Figure: Planning system and development approval process in Ireland). The planning authority assesses the development proposal subject to the relevant spatial planning considerations restricted to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area (Grist 2012). The relevant considerations, inter alia, include the policies and objectives of the statutory plan(s), the county level development plan and, where relevant, a local area plan (LAP), including land-use zoning.

In practice, there is broad discretion in the adjudication of development proposals by technical planning officers who make a recommendation for decision. The recommendation is based on a number of relevant planning considerations, including the provisions of the statutory plan(s) and ministerial guidance. The assessment will take into account internal technical reports from the specialist sections of the local authority, observations by prescribed entities, the submissions of consultancies acting on behalf of applicants and third parties and other third-party observations. The planning authority will make a decision within a defined timeframe to grant or refuse permission or, as is most common, to grant permission subject to conditions. The applicant or a third party can request a review of the decision of the planning authority and an assessment ‘de novo’ of the development proposal is conducted by An Bord Pleanála (the Planning Board). 
 

The National Planning Framework (NPF) is at the apex of the hierarchy of plans, which are primarily policy frameworks at national, regional, county and local area plan level (see Figure: The Irish planning system: the hierarchy of plans). The county and city and in general the local level plans are also land use plans and include zoning objectives. The strategies and plans are subject to the requirements of the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), the Appropriate Assessment (AA) of habitats and the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) (P&D 2000 (as amended), Section 10(1)(D) and Section 19(4 & 5).

The National Planning Framework (NPF)
The NPF (https://npf.ie) replaced the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) in 2018 (Fact Sheet 1). It is a statutory document published by central government and approved by the national parliament (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 20C (8)). The NPF seeks to direct population and employment growth, targeting an additional 1 million people by 2040 into an urban compact growth pattern while prioritising balanced regional development (NPF 2018). In this regard, population and employment growth is prioritised in Dublin and the four regional cities in order for the cities to act as engines of growth for their regions. There is a mandatory requirement for planning authorities to implement the city 50:50 scenario, which seeks to achieve regional parity in the distribution of growth between the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) area and the combined Southern Regional Assembly area and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly (NWRA) area.  

The NPF is binding on the lower order regional spatial and economic strategies (RSESs) and the local level land use plans, which must be consistent with the NPF (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 23(1), Section 12(18) & Section 20(5)). The implementation of the NPF must be reviewed (review in 2021) and revised six years after publication (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 20C (4–5)). The NPF is combined with the National Development Plan (NDP) (2018–2027) public investment programme, as part of a shared vision for Ireland called Project Ireland 2040 (Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, PER, 2019). Project Ireland is the long-term spatial expression of government policy.

Regional spatial and economic strategies (RSESs)
The RSES provides a long-term planning and economic framework for future regional development. It is a 12-year integrated spatial, economic and climate action strategy supported by an implementation and investment framework prepared by the members of the relevant regional assembly following detailed stakeholder and public engagement and the preparation of a draft plan (P&D Act 2000) as amended, Section 24, Section 25). The RSES targets population and employment growth within a regional settlement hierarchy guided by the NPF designation of five Irish cities and five regional growth centres as national engines of growth. In this regard, the RSESs contain a metropolitan area strategy plan (MASP) for each of the five cities (Implementation Roadmap for the National Planning Framework July 2018, Section 3b) (see practical example / Fact Sheet 2). The relevant regional assembly must review the strategy within six years and may revoke it and prepare a new strategy (P&D Act (as amended) Section 26) (see Fact Sheet 2).

Local level planning instruments: Statutory land-use plans
The planning instruments at local level are principally the statutory land-use plans comprising the mandatory county and city development plans and any local area plans (LAPs) mandatory for settlements with populations in excess of 5,000, which are discretionary below this population threshold. These plans are policy frameworks with zoning and in their simplest form are a written statement with a set of zoning maps. The policies and objectives of the development plan (Supplemental Information / Fact Sheet 3) and any LAP (Supplemental Information / Fact Sheet 4) must be consistent with the higher order national and regional strategies and with Section 28 Ministerial guidelines (P&D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 12(18) & Section 20(5)). The preparation of the development plan and any local area plan is the subject of a detailed statutory plan making process with defined stages (see Figure: The Irish planning system: the hierarchy of plans). The plan making process provides for a draft plan display period with an invitation for written submissions by stakeholders and the general public on any matter (Grist 2012).

The use of particular areas for particular purposes – whether residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, as open space or otherwise, or as a mixture of those uses – is provided for by zoning objectives. In the case of the county and city development plan the zoning can provide for the whole functional area of the planning authority or for just part of it. A planning authority must provide a population growth projection and indicate zoning objectives for any town or village within its functional area where the population of the town is 1,500 or greater (P & D Act 2000 (as amended), Section 10(2)(a) &(f)(v)&(vi). The planning authority has the discretion to prepare a local area plan (Supplement / Fact Sheet 4) or to indicate such zoning objectives in the development plan for a town with a population between 1,500 and 5,000 (P & D Act 2000, Section 19(1)(bb)).
 

Strategic Development Zones (SDZ)
The Planning and Development Act 2000 introduced the concept of Strategic Development Zones (SDZs) (P&D Act 2000 (as amended) Part IX). The SDZ prioritises plan-led development. It provides for ‘fast track’ development consent by the alignment of a development proposal with an agreed statutory planning scheme (comprehensive area-based urban design master plan) prepared in accordance with the dedicated legislation. SDZ designations may be initiated by local authorities or dedicated regeneration agencies. They are associated with both brownfield regeneration and large-scale greenfield development. The targeted area-based approach prioritises holistic plan-led development, which integrates physical, economic, social and environmental considerations in areas subject to development pressure (see the Supplemental Information for more details on SDZ).

There is a movement in Ireland toward more effective, active, integrated spatial planning. This is evident in the planning and institutional reforms introduced between 2015 and 2020. In tandem, there is a focus on implementation, including active land management and infrastructure support. The vacant site levy that encourages landowners with idle land to develop or sell it was introduced in 2017 (Urban Regeneration and Housing Act 2015). In 2018, the Land Development Agency (LDA) that will assemble strategic urban lands in public ownership and facilitate their redevelopment was established. Also in 2018, EUR 3 billion in central government funding was provided to support the compact growth objectives of the National Planning Framework (NPF) through the establishment of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF). In tandem, the newly established Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) (2019) is tasked with the independent evaluation of statutory plans to ensure policy consistency at national, regional and local level. 

The government is committed to eliminating carbon emissions in Ireland by 2050 as stated in the Our Shared Future – Programme for Government document (Department of the Taoiseach 2020). It is recognised in the Climate Action Plan that integrated spatial planning combined with targeted public investment will help to reduce carbon emissions from new development, will better connect work and homes resulting in shorter commutes and will deliver a better quality of life (Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, 2019). Project Ireland 2040 will be central in achieving emissions targets (DPER 2019).

2040 and beyond – A vision for Portlaoise: A strategy for a better town centre

The National Planning Framework selected Portlaoise, the administrative and largest population centre in County Laois, in the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) region, as the location for a regeneration and demonstration project. In consequence, Laois County Council prepared ‘2040 and beyond – A vision for Portlaoise’. The objective of the area-based plan is to enhance good place-making in the context of achieving settlement consolidation and compact growth on infill and brownfield urban development land. The demonstration project is initiated at community level. The implementation of the vision is led by Laois County Council.

The population of Portlaoise increased by over 100% in 20 years from the mid-1990s to 2016 (from 9,474 to 22,050). The expansion of new housing and retail was characterised by extensive development oriented around a network of ring roads and outlying parking areas.  The challenge is to achieve physical integration of the new development areas and the compact historic centre. The urban design objective within a holistic, targeted urban regeneration plan is to create a more people-centric town. The strategic interventions include an enhanced built environment, heritage presentation, parks, landscaping, walkways and other quality of life improvements including reduced car dependency that will be cumulatively transformative. The creation of a ‘shared vision’ is agreed with the community and business in ‘public stakeholder workshops’ as part of the plan preparation process.

For more information about the use of ‘soft’ planning instruments, such as the urban integrated planning / renewal and community vision (such as given in the Portlaoise example) see the Supplemental Information.