The Government agreed a proposed policy direction for rural and Gaeltacht housing on 30 June 2026. This means that the Draft National Planning Statement (NPS) on Sustainable Rural and Gaeltacht Housing, prepared by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under Section 25 of the Planning and Development Act 2024, can now move to environmental assessment under relevant EU Directives, prior to its approval by Government.
The new draft Statement refines and updates the existing 2005 Rural Housing Guidelines to reflect the 2024 Act and the established policy in the Revised National Planning Framework (NPF), which is to facilitate new rural housing for those with a local rural housing need, balanced with preventing urban generated sprawl in rural areas under urban development pressures, protecting and promoting the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Gaeltacht, and the regeneration of rural towns and villages.
The proposed new policy approach seeks to provide more clarity and consistency across the various planning authorities by defining the relevant planning and local needs criteria to be applied in local development plans and in the consideration of planning applications for single rural housing in rural and Gaeltacht areas.
The draft NPS will now be assessed for the purposes of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) under the EU SEA and Birds and Habitats Directives, including any necessary associated consultation, in advance of the planned publication before the end of 2026.
Under Section 25 of the 2024 Planning and Development Act, draft National Planning Statements are subject to approval by Government prior to issue by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
Until they are replaced by any final National Planning Statement, the 2005 Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines for Planning Authorities, 2005 remain in effect.
The overall policy approach aligns with the established policy in the NPF to facilitate new rural housing for those with a local rural housing need, balanced with preventing urban generated sprawl in rural areas under urban development pressures, protecting and promoting the cultural and linguistic heritage of the Gaeltacht, and the regeneration of rural settlements.
As set out in the Draft NPS, the principle of infill or backland development shall be supported where existing services and vehicular access exist, subject to consideration of the suitability of the individual proposal in relation to normal siting, design and environmental criteria, and subject to the need to prevent an adverse impact on the planned provision of public infrastructure or utilities or on the potential for the planned expansion of any nearby settlement. Where ‘ribbon’ development is proposed, each case should be judged on its own merits in relation to normal siting, design and environmental criteria, and development plans should not include prescriptive standards in relation to the number of dwellings that may be permitted on a stretch of road.
