Ireland’s planning system explained
Resources from the Office of the Planning Regulator
There is currently a public consultation on the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029, with the deadline for submissions just seven weeks away on 28th March. With that in mind, we wanted to share some really useful resources from the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), covering Ireland’s planning system.
The OPR’s wide range of training resources include very clear and informative slides, infographics and leaflets that explain how Ireland’s planning system functions, the role of the local authority, how County Development Plans are drawn up and implemented and the role of the Office of the Planning Regulator.
These resources were created as part of training courses delivered by the OPR and in some cases they include recordings of the training sessions. Some of the key topics covered include: Introduction to the Planning System, Stages of the Development Plan, the Planning Process, and more recently they have delivered training in more specialised topics such as Housing and Climate. Here is a list of training events:
• ‘Introduction to Planning System’
• ‘Plan Making Process’
• ‘Role of Elected Member’
• ‘Guidance for Councillors on the Initial Stages of Preparing Development Plans and their Core Strategies’
• ‘Consideration and Finalisation of the Draft Development Plan’
• ‘Implementation of the Development Plan and the Development Management Process’
• ‘The Decision on the Planning Application and Appeal’
• ‘An Overview of Planning Enforcement Functions’
• ‘Housing Supply Targets and Core Strategies’
• ‘Rural Planning and Development Policy’
• ‘Delivery of High Quality Housing Appropriate to its Setting’
• ‘On and Offshore Renewables’
• ‘How to Implement National Renewable Energy Targets in Development Plans’
• Sustainable Travel and Transport Planning and Local Authority Development Plans’
More broadly, the OPR’s ‘Public Awareness’ page provides easy access to a wealth of information relating to planning and hosts: an ‘Introduction to Planning’ page, an online Planning Library, Technical Glossary and Acronym List.
The OPR was established in April 2019 on foot of recommendations made by the the Mahon Tribunal. Its role is to ensure local authorities and An Bord Pleanála support and implement Government planning policy. It also implements planning research, training and public awareness in order to promote the public’s engagement in the planning process and to enhance knowledge and public information about planning in Ireland. Learn more about the OPR at this page, which includes a video.
Find out more about the Draft Clare County Development Plan 2023-2029 and how to make a submission at this page on the Clare PPN website.