I propose to take Question No77 and Question No78 together.
Rural Housing Guidelines were last issued in 2005 as Ministerial Guidelines under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. These Guidelines provide that people who are an intrinsic part of the rural community, on the basis of an economic or social need, should be facilitated in all rural areas. In areas under strong urban influence, the policy is to direct urban generated housing into cities, towns and villages. In a rural area suffering persistent and substantial population decline, the policy is to accommodate anyone wishing to build a house, subject to normal planning and environmental considerations.
Since the publication of the current Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines in 2005 (which continue to have effect in addition to subsequent clarifications and national policy changes in the National Planning Framework) there have been important changes to our planning system. Most notably, obligations under European Directives and international agreements relating to the management and protection of the environment and adapting to and mitigating climate change have become more central to the operation of the planning system.
Updated Rural Housing Guidelines are currently being considered by my Department. The updated guidelines will expand on the high level spatial planning policy of the Revised National Planning Framework (NPF), in particular on National Policy Objective (NPO) 28 which relates to rural housing. This objective makes a clear policy distinction between rural areas under urban influence (i.e. areas within the commuter catchment of cities, large towns and centres of employment) on the one hand, and structurally weaker rural areas where population levels may be low or declining, on the other. NPO 28 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social or economic need are to be applied by planning authorities in rural areas under urban influence.
The draft Rural Housing Guidelines will set out relevant planning criteria to be applied in local authority development plans for rural housing, based on the high level policy framework set by the NPF. The guidelines will continue to allow county development plans to provide for housing in the countryside based on the considerations detailed in NPO 28 of the NPF, and will also highlight the need to manage development in certain areas, such as the areas around cities and larger towns and environmentally sensitive areas, in order to avoid over-development.
While planning policy is a national, as opposed to an EU competence, due care is being taken to ensure the updated guidelines will not operate to conflict with fundamental EU freedoms, comply with EU environmental legislative requirements and have due regard to decisions of the European Court of Justice. The draft planning guidelines will address these complex environmental and legal issues, while also providing a framework for the sustainable management of housing in rural areas.
In June 2023, the process of revising the NPF (2018) commenced, and following approval by Government and both Houses of the Oireachtas, the Revised NPF came into effect from 30 April 2025. The finalised revised NPF reflects the significant policy changes and other factors that have taken place since 2018, allowing the updated policy approach to be integrated into the planning system.
The NPF objectives together with the 2005 Guidelines, enable planning authorities to prepare and adopt local development plan policies for one-off housing in rural areas.
When making a decision in relation to an application for permission, a planning authority is restricted to considering the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, regard being had to, inter alia, the provisions of the development plan and any relevant Ministerial guidelines, including the Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines (2005) which remain in effect.
