Ibec welcomes publication of the Planning and Development Bill 2023

Ibec, the group that represents Irish business, welcomes the publication of the Planning and Development Bill 2023 but cautions that the Bill now needs to be scrutinised to ensure that it will provide a planning system that delivers certainty of outcome, that is timely, and can address the infrastructure deficits facing Ireland.

Speaking on the publication, Aidan Sweeney, Ibec’s Head of Enterprise & Regulatory Affairs said: “While the publication of the Bill is to be welcomed, its success will be determined on how it delivers for Ireland in critical areas such as housing, enterprise, and of course, infrastructure. It is vitally important that Ireland’s future development is infrastructure-led. Critically, the Bill must also be examined in terms of its ability as a framework to deliver our climate action targets, as well as ensuring the necessary enabling infrastructure is in place to support sustainable growth across the economy and society.

Ireland requires a planning system that is responsive, resourced, consistent, and certain. The country is facing increasing capacity constraints which will need to be addressed if we are to underpin ambitions in making Ireland a better place to live and work.