Up to 250 homes allowed without environmental assessment

Updated / Friday, 30 Oct 2026 16:55

Regulations that will enable up to 250 housing units to be built without the requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) have been published by the Government.

The changes will come into effect as soon as the ongoing work-to-rule being engaged in by council staff is ended.

The Government says the new draft regulations aim to cut red tape, speed up and reduce costs of housing delivery

Published by the Department of Housing, they will come into effect with the commencement of Part 4 of the Planning and Development Act 2024.

That is not expected to happen until the work-to-rule by public servants ends.

Minister of State for Planning and Local Government John Cummins said publication of the regulations will give clarity to builders on EIA requirements and the Department is removing duplication in the system as environmental screening is undertaken by Local Authorities in the context of zoning land for residential use in the first instance.

"We need to deliver housing and critical infrastructure more quickly through efficient processes and the introduction of new exclusion thresholds will assist in this endeavour.

"The lack of exclusion thresholds effectively meant everything was been screened and unnecessary EIA's were being carried out effectively duplicating work already undertaken by Local Authorities.

"These changes will save time and cost associated with prospective housing projects," he said.

The draft changes will mean no EIA screening will be required for up to 250 units but EIA will be required for between 250-750 units while full EIA will be required for anything above 750 units.

The draft regulations also set out exclusion thresholds for the transmission of electrical energy by overhead cables, private roads and wastewater treatment plants for projects below 10,000 p.e. (population equivalent) which is expected to cut the time involved for Uisce Éireann in delivering much needed wastewater projects in towns and villages across the country.

Opposition parties have previously expressed concerns about any undermining of environmental standards as part of efforts to speed up housing delivery.