Planning in Ireland: What’s Going On?

The recent challenges faced by An Bord Pleanála have led to significant disruptions to housing delivery; this will not come as news to anyone reading this today. Over the past week, The Irish Times has taken a deep dive into the consequences and real market impacts of the chaos that originated from governance issues, culminating in a breakdown of the board’s decision-making capabilities. Unsurprisingly, these issues caused substantial delays in major housing projects, resulting in a backlog of planning cases so severe as to warrant a brand overhaul. The real question remains, will this reformed body, now operating under a new structure and name, effectively address this backlog and actually streamline the planning process?

One of the most affected areas has been the Strategic Housing Development (SHD) sector. More than 22,000 homes, predominantly located in the Dublin region, have been caught up in the planning process. The delay in decision-making significantly surpassed the originally mandated timeframes, which has had a considerable impact on large-scale housing and apartment developments. In response to this situation, the Government and An Bord Pleanála have implemented several measures. These include increasing the number of board members and enhancing the efficiency of decision-making processes by holding more frequent board meetings. It’s a start…

Looking ahead, the Housing Minister has provided assurances that the current bottlenecks in planning will be resolved in the near future, promising significant progress “early next year”. Let’s hope for all of our sakes that he is right, the country needs a functioning planning regime. Maybe the Planning and Development Bill 2023 really will be the great panacea. This bill, one of the most substantial in the State’s history, is designed to add clarity and consistency (almost certainty?) into the planning system.

While Ireland is close to meeting current Housing for All targets, delivering homes for the private market outside of the Greater Dublin Area is still a viability challenge. While there have been a number of useful and welcome supply-side initiatives, it still feels like the industry is delivering in spite of, rather than because of, State policies. 

From conversations within Lotus HQ with our home-builder clients, these developments represent a mixed bag of challenges and opportunities. The inevitability of project delays due to planning backlogs necessitates a more robust risk management approach. On the plus side, the Government’s proactive measures to increase housing supply and streamline the planning process can open new avenues for strategic development in regional areas. The emphasis on building more homes – and facilitating the building of more homes, coupled with the expected easing of planning bottlenecks, could create favourable conditions for homebuilders outside of the Greater Dublin Area, which would be good news for everyone.

Ian Lawlor
086 3625482

Managing Director 
Lotus Investment Group