A landmark Planning and Development Bill was approved on Wednesday evening in the Dáil.
It includes changes to An Bord Pleanála and reforming the process for taking judicial reviews.
The bill is more than 900 pages - and the Government believes it's the key to solving the housing crisis.
It will now go to the President, to be signed into law.
Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien welcomed the Bill’s passage through the houses of the Oireachtas and said: “This is a pivotal moment for Government in our efforts to ensure we have a planning system that is fit for purpose, both now and into the future.
"In Housing for All, we committed to overhauling our planning legislation to ensure it was fit for purpose. This legislation does just that by providing clarity, consistency and certainty for all users.
“Because of this legislation we will have a planning system which matches our strong ambitions for housing delivery and critical infrastructure over the coming decades.
“This legislation is the third largest piece of legislation in the history of our State.
"It is the culmination of a 15-month review which was ordered by then Taoiseach Micheál Martin and carried out by the former Attorney General Paul Gallagher.
"First published in January 2023, it underwent widespread consultation and has been subject to more than 175 hours of debate across both houses of the Oireachtas. I want to extend my thanks to all those who have engaged constructively on this Bill and to bringing it to this point.”
Some of the reforms in the Bill include:
-The introduction of statutory timelines for all consenting processes, to give confidence and certainty to applicants;
-A significant reorganisation of An Bord Pleanála, to be known as An Coimisiún Pleanála;
-Greater mandatory alignment of all tiers of planning, improving consistency;
-Improvements to the planning judicial review processes;
-Clearer, more consistent policies and guidance;
-Longer term, more strategic, ten-year plans for local authorities;
-More agile local implementation, through the introduction of Urban and Priority Area Plans, including new bespoke plans for Gaeltacht and Island communities;
-Creation of Urban Development Zones, which will facilitate a more plan-led approach to development, increasing certainty at the master-planning stage.
Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin reacted immediately to the news, calling it a "bad night" for Ireland's planning system.
Tonight was a bad night for our planning system.
Our planning system, those working in it & those using will all be worse off.
The Bill will cause delays to housing, infrastructure & renewable energy.
If in Govt SF will not enact & will repeal the majority of the Bill! pic.twitter.com/HIJyAZm0wq
— Eoin Ó Broin (@EOBroin) October 9, 2024
Mr Ó Brion was not the only vocal opponent to the bill, with Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo preemptively speaking against the bill.
In the post Mr Ruffalo said: “Hey, I need your help. You know, the Irish green party's about to do something really terrible to the environment and our climate. They're trying to jam through a bill to fast track building liquid natural gas terminals that would import fracked gas from the United States and I need you to help me tell the Irish people all about it.
“They need to remove the LNG fast tracking and prioritisation as a strategic infrastructure from the Planning Bill and permanently just ban LNG.
“What's worse is that the Green Party, which promised the voters that they would stop the import of frack gas and LNG when they joined the coalition government in 2020, but since then, they've been opening the door for the Irish government to build an LNG terminal in the Shannon estuary of all places.”
