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:

Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources October 2024

ENDS

Notes to Editor

The Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources identifies a number of key actions to ensure that we have a planning system to deliver on our priorities in the years ahead.

The actions fall under the headings of Education, National and International Recruitment, System Review and Innovation and Efficiency. There is a focus on the needs of the public sector in the first instance, including the Local Government sector. The plan also takes into account the needs of a growing private sector that is critical to the operation of the system.

The key actions are summarised as follows:

Increase the up-take of undergraduate and postgraduate places on accredited planning courses in Ireland
Increase the number of student places available on accredited planning courses and explore potential for new planning courses
Develop new education pathways towards professional planning
Introduce a coordinated graduate planner recruitment campaign(s) for the local government and public sectors
Design and action a focused and targeted programme to support the restart of planning careers in the public sector and address barriers to re-entry
Implement a focused programme targeting graduate planners and related professionals who have completed their education in Ireland but are now abroad to encourage their return
Implement a focused and effective relocation scheme to encourage and support the return of experienced planners who have completed their education in Ireland but are abroad
Run an impactful and targeted recruitment campaign in the UK and European Economic Area to attract professional planners to Ireland
Ensure the addition of the profession of planner to the Critical Skills Occupation List
Undertake a review of the qualification requirements for planning posts within the Local Government sector to ensure that the sector can attract as wide a pool of talent as possible
Examine current recruitment methods for professional planners and related professionals within local government and public sector
Identify opportunities to enhance retention of professional planners and related professionals within local government and public sector organisations
Undertake a comprehensive and strategic analysis of the longer-term requirement for professional planners and related professionals
Identify opportunities for innovation and efficiency and report with recommendations for action

Working groups will be established to progress actions of the plan, overseen by the Steering Group. The Ministerial Action Plan will be reviewed on an annual basis to take account of progress made and changing circumstances.

The plan is rooted in a cross-sectoral response to resourcing challenges. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage established a Steering Group in April 2024 to oversee development of the Ministerial Action Plan. This Group included representation from:

the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s Planning and Local Government Divisions
the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science’s Construction and Green Skills Unit
the County and City Management Association on behalf of the local government sector
Regional Assemblies
An Bord Pleanála
the Office of the Planning Regulator
infrastructure providers
the third level sector

The Department also engaged with individual members and other key stakeholders in relation to specific actions.