The Revised National Planning Framework (NPF) 2025, sets out high-level national policies and objectives, which are essential to achieving proper planning and sustainable development, with a clear vision to guide future development and investment decisions.
The NPF sets out the spatial planning policy approach to accommodating projected population and housing growth to 2040 in a manner which delivers balanced regional development and more sustainable compact growth of our cities and towns, in line with National Strategic Objective (NSO) 1 of ‘Compact Growth’. The national compact growth objective was introduced in response to an identified need to counter the trend of urban sprawl, to support the targeted delivery of infrastructure and services and promote our cities and towns to be self-sustaining and viable places in which to live and work. The NPF notes the high cost of infrastructure delivery and unsustainable forms of development associated with scattered and linear patterns of ‘strip’ or ‘ribbon development’.
With regard to rural areas, the NPF recognises that the Irish countryside is, and will continue to be, a living and lived-in landscape, in line with NSO 3 ‘Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities’, while at the same time protecting the capacity of the environment and avoiding ribbon and over-spill development from urban areas. As set out in Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030- An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness, I intend to publish a National Planning Statement in of the second half of 2026 that will set out relevant planning criteria to be applied in local authority development plans for one-off rural housing, based on the high level policy framework set in the NPF.
The Rural Housing National Planning Statement will expand, in particular, on National Policy Objective (NPO) 28 of the NPF, 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), and structurally weaker rural areas where population levels may be low or declining. NPO 28 is also aligned with the established approach whereby considerations of social or economic need are applied by planning authorities in the assessment of development proposals for new one-off housing in rural areas under urban influence.
Rural Housing Guidelines were last issued in 2005 as Ministerial Guidelines under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and these continue to have effect in addition to subsequent clarifications and national policy changes in the NPF. 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.
With regard to cities, towns and villages, and in support of the NPF Objectives, the Sustainable Residential Development and Compact Settlements Guidelines for Planning Authorities, were issued as Ministerial Guidelines in 2024, under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. These Guidelines set out policy and guidance in relation to growth priorities for settlements at each tier in the national settlement hierarchy. This includes delivering brownfield and infill development (including backland development) at suitable locations and delivering integrated, sequential and sustainable extensions to existing settlements.
Furthermore, the Spatial Planning and National Roads Guidelines for Planning Authorities, 2012 were also issued under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000. These Guidelines state that development plans should include policies aimed at maintaining the safety and capacity of national roads by avoiding the creation of additional access points, and the generation of additional traffic from existing access points on roads where a speed limit greater than 60 kmh applies. The creation of new accesses and the intensification of existing accesses to national roads gives rise to additional turning movements that introduce additional safety risks to road users and affect the efficient movement of traffic on these roads. The Guidelines also allow for a less restrictive approach on lightly-trafficked sections of national secondary routes serving structurally weak and remote communities where a balance needs to be struck between the important transport functions of such roads and supporting the social and economic development of these areas.
The local authority development plan is the principal planning policy tool to achieve these national objectives at a local level. When preparing a development plan, planning authorities were required under the 2000 Act to have regard to any Ministerial Guidelines issued under section 28 of that Act, and to apply any specific planning policy requirements contained within those Guidelines. Ministerial Guidelines will, over time, be replaced with National Planning Statements (NPSs) issued under Section 25 of the new Planning and Development Act of 2024. All development plans must be ‘materially consistent’ with any National Planning Policies and Measures and take ‘due account’ of any National Planning Policy Guidance in an NPS.
Following the commencement of Chapter 3 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 in October 2025, my Department is reviewing existing Guidelines with the intention of replacing them with National Planning Statements under Section 25 of the new Act of 2024.
As already noted, my Department is currently preparing a draft National Planning Statement on Rural Housing for Government approval, to be issued under Section 25 of the Planning and Development Act of 2024, which will provide consistency in the approach to rural housing across the Country. Since the publication of the current Sustainable Rural Housing Guidelines in 2005 there have been important changes to our planning system and our obligations under European Directives and international agreements. Due care is being taken to ensure the new Rural Housing National Planning Statement will not conflict with fundamental EU freedoms, will comply with EU environmental requirements and will have due regard to decisions of the European Court of Justice.
In the interests of clarity, all current Ministerial Guidelines will continue to have effect under Section 27 of the Act of 2024 until such time as they are revoked or replaced by a National Planning Statement.
