Final revision OF THE NPF APPROVED

Incorporating amendments arising from public consultation and environmental assessments, the first revision of the National Planning Framework (NPF) was approved by government and both Houses of the Oireachtas in April 2025.

Commencing in June 2023, including a public consultation between July and September 2024, the first revision of the NPF has now concluded. On a motion moved by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne TD, the Dáil voted (87 members in favour versus 66 against) to approve the Final Draft Revised NPF, as approved by the Government.

Outlining his view that the revised NPF “reflects the significant changes” which have occurred since the original NPF was published in 2018, the Minister says: “This plan will allow for reviews of current regional strategies and local authority development plans to reflect today’s reality and to ensure the zoning of land for residential, employment, and a range of other purposes meets our country’s needs.”

Among the significant changes referenced by the Minister are:

• population growth and associated housing demand;
• infrastructure delivery which aligns homebuilding with the provision of services and community facilities; and new policies relating to renewable energy, climate, and the environment.

Local authority development plans

At the same time, Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning, John Cummins TD suggests that the clarity afforded by the revised NPF will enable local authorities to “translate the revised housing requirements at a national level into their city and county development plans”.

In other words, the revised NPF is intended to set policy direction to enable local authorities to quickly translate population and housing figures into their local development plans and reflect the updated housing targets.

Opposition

Despite its approval in the Dáil, opposition parties remain critical of the revised NPF. Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on rural affairs, community development and the Gaeltacht, Conor D McGuinness TD says: “This plan is silent on the very concept of community development. There is no vision, no urgency, no new thinking. Just more vague promises from a government that has repeatedly failed to invest in the services, supports and social infrastructure communities need.”

Similarly, the party’s spokesperson on housing, Eoin Ó Broin TD asserts that the revised NPF “significantly underestimates” the scale of unmet demand that currently exists within the State. “This is a disappointing document. It repeats many of the mistakes of its predecessor as well as creating new mistakes. It does not have my party’s support at this stage, and we will continue to make the case for a planning framework that will meet the social, economic, cultural, and environmental needs of our people,” he says.

Meanwhile, speaking in the Dáil, Labour’s Conor Sheehan TD insists: “We believe that this is a weak document and that there are a number of key flaws in it. This should have come before the Oireachtas for scrutiny. It should have come before the committee and we should have had the opportunity to go through it in granular detail, which is what my colleagues in the Labour Party and I believe is necessary. That is why, at this stage, we cannot support this document.”

Similarly, Social Democrat TD Jennifer Whitmore says: “The issue for us as a country is not writing these documents but rather implementing them and seeing them delivered. To date, we have not seen the development of communities.”