The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has published ‘Planning in Numbers’ to provide a strategic review of key planning trends and outputs in Ireland over the last five years, and a comparison of patterns where figures are available for the 2019-2023 period.
The OPR’s five-year review uses data from statistics published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC), the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and An Bord Pleanála (ABP).
This analysis focuses on key indicators related directly to functions such as forward planning; development management; planning appeals; planning enforcement, land activation, vacancy, legal challenges, and costs of operating local authority planning functions that are presented in the previous series. In addition, some indicators are introduced related to resources and climate action.
This analysis of 2023 data indicates that Ireland’s planning system continues to perform statutory duties in the context of increased pressure. Data presented here reflects only part of the work of local authorities, who also undertake a significant volume of additional planning-related work such as development promotion, urban renewal and rural development.
“The figures for 2023 show that local authorities continued to concentrate their forward planning resources on preparing or completing their development plan reviews. The increase in the publications of issue papers for local area plans (LAPs) indicates that the local authorities have begun to focus on preparing detailed plans,” the OPR notes in its review.
According to the OPR, “Planning, like other sectors, is experiencing resource challenges as well as looking to technological advances and related challenges and opportunities. The Ministerial Action Plan on Planning Resources is welcomed and will assist the sector. It is interesting to look across the five-year period.
“This provides clarity on consistent and varying trends and figures. In the context of balanced regional growth, the five-year pattern of granted permissions for houses and apartments between regional assembly areas may merit investigation. In recent years new online planning application systems have been introduced in several local authorities. There may be value in investigating the level of invalid applications.”
