Housing Growth Requirements

National Planning Framework Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements

In April 2025 the Government approved the Revised National Planning Framework (NPF), which addressed the need to plan for a population of between 6.1 to 6.3 million people nationally by 2040 by providing for approximately 50,000 houses to be delivered per year over that period, to meet the additional population growth.

In July 2025, the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage issued ‘NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines for Planning Authorities’ (the Guidelines), which set the housing demand scenario for each local authority to 2040 by translating the NPF requirements into estimated average annual figures.

In line with the Guidelines, a Chief Executive’s Report has been prepared to address:

• the development capacity of existing zoned lands in Cork City, and
• the Chief Executive’s recommendations demonstrating the means by which it is proposed to secure the objectives of the Guidelines.

This report was presented to the Lord Mayor and Elected Members of Cork City Council on 9^th February 2026 and has been submitted to the Office of the Planning Regulator and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.