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Galway April 2025
Planning is doing fine but must focus more on tackling the housing and climate crises. Human health must also be central to our work as planners, and our urban areas can be key to tackling this. Brevity in our plans, improving public engagement in plan-making and better communication of what we do will assist us in looking to the future.
The Irish Planning system has given direction and clarity on future development and has reached an important moment of alignment between national, regional and local coordination. In an age of unparalleled expansion, the planning system has managed to facilitate, promote and coordinate development. Operating in a world that is often deeply sceptical to promoting the good, some extraordinary work has been achieved over the last half century. At the outset I want to thank the good planners I have worked with over the years.
For a profession that operates in a world that is sometimes hugely sceptical of the benefits of planning we’ve had quite a productive fifty years. Looking ahead there are several challenges: climate, housing, and a geo-political world of uncertainty, but I am confident that we are better placed than ever to make a positive contribution to shaping our future world. Looking ahead, there is a need for greater concision, collaboration and communication to deliver sustainable development. I’m a city boy, and I want to make the case for improving our urban areas from cities like Galway, to towns to villages. Looking around the island I’m pleased that Limerick now has a mayor that is focused on delivering the best for his city, and that has done so much to tackle urban dereliction and vacancy. With Town Regeneration Offices up and running throughout the State we are well placed to improve our urban areas.
With the enactment of the 2024 Planning Act, there is a set of frameworks, strategies and plans that will assist in directing the right development to right places. The Act logically lists the National Planning Framework, National Planning Statements, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, Development Plans and finally Urban Area Plans, Priority Area Plans and Coordinated Area Plans as the mechanisms that will provide clarity and direction in the years to come. I welcome the move to extend the time of the Development Plan from six years to ten years. I am pleased that Plans will be more strategic in nature, and that there will be statutory mandatory timelines for consent processes. The re-structuring of An Bord Pleanála with decision-making and governance structures separated, but I’m not a fan of renaming it to An Coimisiún Pleanála. I am concerned at the further centralising of powers within the Government. The Office of the Planning Regulator has done valuable work to date in providing Continued Professional Development to many of you in this room and will play an important role in future years.
Staying with the positive side of things, resourcing of the planning system has increased significantly, and will improve in the coming years. For the most part we have left behind the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s when Minister Michael Smith described planning as a ‘debased currency’. The debasing of the currency lay not at the door of professional planners, but with county councillors who were rezoning land at the behest of developers, rather than for the public good. Several tribunals later I believe the quality of our plans, and our councillors has improved.
It was the late Justice Niall McCarthy who argued that the Development Plan is a contract between the people and the State and moves to modify that contract for the wrong motives are always wrong. That is why I remain concerned at the powers that are being vested in the Minister for Planning as it will diminish the powers of local planning authorities, and local communities. Of course, concerns also remain at the balance of power between planning authorities, developers and local communities. As someone who served for many years as a city councillor in inner-city Dublin I felt that communities were often powerless in the discussions between financial actors that are now global, and State authorities, a point that Professor Pauline McGuirk has written about.
For the values that we had at the time we made a fair stab at it. There was a focus on creating order out of chaos, of tackling overcrowding in our cities, and making space for homes and industries in the growing suburbs. The twentieth century was a time of unlimited possibilities, and significant optimism. Patrick Geddes’s dictum ‘Survey, Analysis, Plan’ informed discussions in Ireland and Dublin’s Civic Survey published in 1925 was a good attempt at considering the challenges that faced Dublin at that time. The thirst for modernity, industrial production and car-based solutions, led by figures such as Le Corbusier had huge influence over spatial planning, and the enthusiasm for roads and modern wide-open spaces while well-intentioned, served to downplay the importance of existing urban areas.
Sir Patrick Abercrombie’s sketch development plan of 1939 was described as a good start by Joseph Brady. However, Brady pointed out a critical difference between Dublin’s new towns. In the UK they were seen as separate entities, but in Dublin they were linked to the existing city. This led to a significant traffic demand, which in turn led to road widening proposals that severely damaged and displaced inner-city communities. Back then there was a belief that nature could be controlled and put to the service of mankind. People would move to wide open modern places where noisy polluting industries were kept well away from new residential areas. As Myles Wright said in 1967:
‘Ireland is coming late into the age of a car for most families. There is every sign that Irishmen, as sturdy individualists and democrats, will wish to use their cars fully. There is every reason why they should, … where long stretches of trunk road offer near-perfect motoring conditions and will do so for long period ahead.’
The Myles Wright solution of low-density housing areas, separate from offices and industrial areas, connected by roads was replicated on the outskirts of most towns and cities around Ireland. The approach was understandable for its time, but today we understand that density, mixed-use and active travel is the future. It is worth noting the development and growth of Dublin for a long period mirrored that proposed by Myles Wright. Paddy Shaffrey’s book ‘The Irish Town, an approach to survival’ published in 1975, stresses the importance of the existing built fabric, and the need to regenerate and knit together the old and new to avoid suburban sprawl and ribbon development.
Looking ahead, we still have the challenge of creating order out of chaos, but we must also cope with the challenge of our car-dependent suburbs and low-density sprawl. The challenge of adequate affordable housing still looms large, and in addition concerns regarding climate change impact on all decisions. Mixed-use compact communities are the future as Richard Rogers points out in his report ‘Towards an Urban Renaissance published in 1999. He gave us a model for compact high-density development which is widely used in some parts of our cities and towns today.
Leon Krier also made a similar point that mixed uses are a necessary part of urban form. Even the leader of the Catholic Church has given us his insights into problems and challenges that must be addressed in the planning process. Creating communities where our needs can be met within a fifteen-minute walk has recently been championed by Professor Carlo Moreno but also figured in the work of Leon Krier in the 1980s, and interestingly in the writings of Ebenezer Howard and le Corbusier for over a century.
In addition to the issues of climate change and housing I often consider three related issues that must be a concern for all planners. They are obesity and sedentary behaviour, poor air quality, and traffic injuries. I am firmly convinced that our efforts as planners can help to tackle all three of these issues, under the cross-cutting theme of climate action. We are currently designing obesogenic communities, and planners have a key role to act, in collaboration with transport and mobility authorities. Walkable communities are the future. Air quality in our towns and cities is impacted by open fires and stoves, but transport is an important contributory factor, electrifying mobility will help, as will reducing the need to travel by car. Finally, car accidents claim twenty thousand lives every year in Europe and cut short the lives of hundreds of thousands of others. Every move we take to plan walkable communities is a win for road safety, and every zebra crossing, segregated bike lane and public realm enhancement plays a part. Action on all three fronts will create living towns and cities that can allow us to thrive as children, and as we get older. Planners play a crucial role in this struggle.
We need more concision in our Development Plans. As we move towards the enactment of the 2024 Planning Act there is a sense of optimism that the hierarchy of plans, frameworks and strategies will achieve greater integration than previously. The National Planning Framework provides the top-level guidance. Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy and City and County Development Plan provide mid-level guidance and Urban Area Plans, Priority Area Plans and Co-ordinated Area Plans, and Urban Development Zones replace Local Area Plans in providing the grain at local level. Are our plans too detailed? The Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028 consists of seven volumes. The first volume contains sixteen chapters and is 682 pages long. The second volume contains eighteen appendices and runs to 427 pages. The third volume contains eleven maps. The fourth volume contains the record of Protected Structures and has 8780 lines of entry in a spreadsheet. Volume five has 355 pages and is the Strategic Environmental Assessment. The sixth volume is the Appropriate Assessment (Natura Impact report) and runs to 720 pages. Volume seven of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment is 273 pages long, with eight maps. That’s 2,457 pages plus the listed buildings, say an additional 300 pages, and of course nineteen maps. If you read it, at say a page a day, you wouldn’t finish it before the next plan kicks in. Have we tied ourselves up in knots? I can certainly understand why the life of the plan has been extended from six to ten years.
Despite the huge effort that went into producing these tomes, I’m still not sure what is going to happen across my street. Will a new development be three floors high, or fifteen? I would argue that we need more concise plans that give greater clarity to both the citizen and the developer. My understanding is that many other parts of Europe have achieved this. The Barcelona metropolitan region has 160 municipalities, in which some five million people live. However, they have a concise Barcelona Metropolitan Strategic Plan (PEMB. This is fifty-four pages long and lays down eight missions that must be addressed including Sustainable and safe mobility, territorial cohesion, healthy food, and adequate housing. A clear set of drawings and diagrams are used to illustrate the objectives.
The making of a statutory development plan is hugely time-consuming for planning authorities whose resources are extremely limited. It is understandable that the Council will stick closely to the minimum statutory requirement for public advertisement and display of a statutory document. In recent years however there has been a greater understanding that engagement with the Development Plan process has been limited within certain communities, income groups and backgrounds. Looking ahead I’d believe that the best plans result from widespread outreach and engagement with the public and all those who will be impacted by decisions.
At the same time as the first Development Plans were being finalised in Ireland Sherry Arnstein wrote her seminal article of the decision entitled ‘A Ladder of Citizen Participation’ in 1969. Unfortunately, many of those early plans were heavily top-down initiatives that failed to sufficiently recognise the aspirations of the communities that they were purported to serve. More recently the level of engagement has improved, but I wonder whether we could go further in involving citizens in the plan-making process? Online consultation rooms are very valuable, such as this one led by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, but effort is also needed to reach those who would not naturally go online to seek information. In the United Kingdom Community Technical Aid Centres gave much-needed advice to those who were in line to be impacted by large-scale development. Here in Ireland the Dublin Inner City Partnership provided limited support to some inner-city communities over the last thirty years. This allowed them to engage with some large-scale planning applications such as the redevelopment of the Croke Park stadium, and the proposed National Paediatric Hospital. Given the complexity of our planning procedures, I believe there is still scope to provide greater technical assistance to those affected by both planning decisions and the making of the plan itself. The New European Bauhaus Initiative by the European Union is an interesting development in recent years. Led by European Commission President Ursula von der Layen it comes one hundred years after the Bauhaus design school in Germany led by Walter Gropius pioneered an approach to the design of our built environment that extolled the virtues of modernity and industrial production. The more recent version wrestles with the idea of co-creating and working across disciplines. Planners are well-placed to embrace and use the tools of the New European Bauhaus to create spaces and places that are beautiful, sustainable, and that bring people together. The NEB Compass document provides practical pathways for a more participatory process, multi-level engagement and a transdisciplinary approach to problem solving. For instance, it could help bring together those working on mobility, climate and biodiversity within a local authority, and create outcomes that are more unified. It can help us to be more inclusive, sustainable and focused in our planning efforts.
Planning rarely gets the good news headlines in Ireland. Despite the efforts of local authorities to communicate the process of plan-making, and the granting of planning decisions, the media tend not to jump at stories that have a positive slant. That is why I was pleased to see this headline for a planning application that may replace a car park with new homes. More effort is needed to sell the positive stories that we are involved in. Proposing lands for development, coordinating the work of different agencies, making space for nature, all this work that is central to the role of a spatial planner deserves to be better celebrated and spoken about. I am pleased that some planning authorities are working hard through social media and other outlets to get their message out It is however worth reminding ourselves that even with the best intentions there will still be those who are unhappy with the message.
How can Europe help? I was a member of the European Parliament for the last five years, spatial planning is not a European competency, but EU legislation can support or at least signpost the challenges that we need to tackle. The good news is that the concerns about the housing challenge have been felt in Brussels, and the new Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen who has been asked to address structural drivers of the housing crisis and unlocking public and private investment for affordable and sustainable housing. He will also put forward the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan. Interestingly he is asked to ensure that existing rules are fit-for-purpose and focus on reducing administrative burdens and simplifying legislation.
On climate we passed a significant body of laws known as the European Green Deal that will help Member States and Local and regional authorities to act. New and updated laws on energy and transportation will assist us as planners in delivering objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the years ahead. More ambitious targets for renewable energy, energy efficiency and active travel will assist us in our work. The controversial Nature Restoration Law is interesting, as it requires Member States including Ireland to draw up a plan to protect biodiversity, not just in rural areas, but also in our cities and towns. Making space for wildlife, and endangered species will be important, and providing wildlife corridors between spaces for nature will help nature to heal.
I want to make a plea for greater attention to the future of our cities. Jane Jacobs said Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody. That must be our task. Cities are n the frontline of tackling climate change, and it is there that we must act. With speed.
It doesn’t escape my attention that we’re gathered here in Galway where two separate local authorities and planning authorities hold sway. The problem is not unique. In Dublin four separate authorities hold sway over the city, and the functional urban area extends over many counties, and across the border into Northern Ireland. Despite the presence of the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly a plethora of agencies and authorities govern the city region. In Limerick it is early days, but I strongly feel the amalgamation of city and county and the presence of a directly elected Mayor will help that city-region thrive and prosper.
The Croí Cónaithe (Cities) Scheme aims to bridge the current “Viability Gap” between the cost of building homes and the market sale price. However, it can only be claimed retrospectively and in full upon certified completion of works. Allowing staged payments might help bridge the gap. Town and Village Renewal Schemes are hugely important in providing the resources that are needed in our town and village centre. I am pleased that green spaces, public realm improvements and the provision of markets can be funded by this initiative. Regarding Town Centre First, Planners have an important role in spearheading Town Centre First plans, in the multi-disciplinary teams in each Local Authority Area, in aligning these plans with the National Planning Framework approach to compact urban growth. They are also collaborating with linked cross-Government programmes and initiatives and this work is crucial. Monaghan has done great work on this. It has been a huge step forward that Town Regeneration Officers are in place in most Local Authority areas and there is huge scope for planners to work with them to tackle vacancy and under-use. However, in many instances our urban centres are still dominated by both car traffic and parked cars. Of course, by-passes have a role to play, but much more important is prioritising walking, cycling and public transport in our communities. Many years ago, I suggested that a civilised space is one where you can let go the hand of your child without being fearful. We have a long way to go in that regard. Many people and families reject the possibility of living in town because of traffic and anti-social behaviour and we have a duty to create a public realm that is inviting and attractive to all. This challenge is too important to be left to civil engineers alone, and I would urge planners in our local authorities to get more involved in this discussion.
Many of our twins and cities are characterised by low-income housing, often of poor quality with poor surroundings close to the centre. For urban areas to thrive they must attract people from all walks of life, on all incomes. Segregation cannot be condoned. and improving the quality of what we build, and the surroundings is crucial. Local authorities and planners are well placed to kick-start the regeneration process and planting scheme such as this one on Dublin’s Talbot Street dramatically improves the look of the street. Local authorities could do more to make available town centre sites for those who wish to house themselves. If we want to see bustling town centres we need quality homes as the driver to attract young families to live in urban areas. Local Authorities need to be more proactive in making available subsidised sites within walking distance of our town centres. You, as planners, have the skill set to put in place simple masterplans that would allow people to purchase a site for a terraced three-story home in the town centre. These powers have been available in the 1966 housing Act. Under Article fifty-seven ‘A housing authority may provide sites for building purposes on land acquired or appropriated by them for purposes of this Act’. In Amsterdam the local authority promotes self-build and co-operative housing, and places like Centrumeiland, or “Center Island” allow new living places to be constructed at lower costs than normal. If the Netherlands can do this, so can we.
Other factors influence housing choice, and the cost of land is too high. The residential zoned land tax may help in this regard, in addition to the ‘land value sharing’ levy proposed in the Land (Zoning Value Sharing) Bill 2024. However, I don’t believe that they will do enough. If half the cost of a new home comes from the land it is built on, it is no wonder we have a housing crisis, and that people choose to build single homes on their family’s land in rural areas. I strongly believe a Site Value Tax as endorsed by this Institute is the way forward. The answer to one-off-housing lies in affordable homes in our cities, and the possibility of acquiring a home that will sustain you for life. We cannot afford to let one-off housing or suburban sprawl come ahead of regenerating our urban land for the future. I want to recognise the good work of South Dublin Council on their Land Activation programme.
I believe we need more mayors, as they have proven their worth in places such as Paris and Barcelona. In addition, I strongly believe we need a Minister for Cities. Why? Cities are crucial in tackling both the housing and the climate crises. A Minister for cities, or at least a Minister for Urban Affairs would help our urban areas to thrive, and perhaps counter-intuitively I also believe this will help Rural Ireland to thrive also. Town Regeneration Officers will support the establishment and ongoing work of Town Teams, ensuring development and delivery on the Town Centre First Plans alongside local champions. They will be a vital link between the Town Teams, the expertise within the Local Authority and other organisations, and will facilitate the Town Teams in accessing funding, delivering on projects, and supporting implementation at a local level.
The Heritage Council has done hugely useful work in ensuring that our past gets the recognition that it deserves, and together with the work of the National Inventory of Architectural heritage, and your own work on Protected Structures within Development Plans will help protect what is irreplaceable. The twenty-first century, unlike the twentieth, is one where we must work within the limits of a climate-constrained world and do more with what already exists. As French architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Phillipe Vassal who won the 2021 Pritzker Architecture Prize started in 1921 “Never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, transform, and reuse!”. Making more of what we have, rather than creating anew will be one of the defining characteristics of this century. Seán O’Leary in his history of Irish Planning stated that the Irish Planning system can be strategic, but also efficient and transparent through evidence-based decisions. I am hopeful that this will continue.
Finally, in a world of distractions where loud voices vie for our attention and social media anger fills our feeds I want to make a plea for calm reflection on the challenges that we face. Some years ago, Paddy Shaffrey made the case that important decisions take time and should not be rushed. I tend to agree. As planners we must look to the future and not be deflected from our mission. General Omar N Bradley, America’s last five-star general knew this. He said:
“It is time we steered by the stars and not by the lights of every passing ship.”
Let us look to the stars and aim high in our hopes and in our work.
Ciarán Cuffe, MIPI, 10 April 2025
