Government calls on local authorities to 'move with urgency' to rezone land for housing

Local authorities must reopen their development plans and complete rezoning of land for housing before the end of the year, the housing minister has said. James Browne confirmed he would seek councils to expand the amount of land available for housing, as the Government attempts to hit formally approved housing targets of an average of 50,500 per year. “I don’t see any reason why we won’t be able to access this land by the end of the year,” Mr Browne said. Mr Browne’s order comes after the Government approved the revised National Planning Framework on Tuesday, which is a high-level plan for strategic development and planning across the country. The plan itself sets out Ireland’s housing ambition between 2025 and 2030, with a target of 303,000 new houses at the end of that period. According to the framework, 50% of development will be targeted within Ireland’s five cities — Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford — while the remaining 50% will be in villages, towns and rural areas...