Digital Planning Ireland: Piloting Innovation to Unlock Homes and Tackle Dereliction

Proptech Ireland Pre-Budget 2026 Submission

To the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage | Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, August 2025

Proptech Ireland is a collaboration of Ireland-based technology innovators – from startups and scaling companies, right through to established SMEs – focused on using emerging technologies to solve challenges across the built environment (planning, construction, real estate and smart cities) and we welcome the opportunity to contribute to Budget 2026.

We believe that proptech innovators, emerging technologies, and citizens – when engaged – have a huge role to play in addressing Ireland’s housing and planning crisis. Right now, housing delivery on the ground is slowing, the pipeline of permissions is weakening, vacancy and dereliction remain pervasive, and public trust in the planning system remains fragile. Innovative use of existing and emerging technologies could leverage the reforms promised under the Planning and Development Act 2024, which introduces new obligations on digitalisation, public participation, and planning and development efficiency.

The recent review of the National Development Plan reaffirms the importance of housing and infrastructure investment, however, without planning innovation, delivery targets will continue to be missed. The Planning and Development Act 2024 is potentially game-changing for Ireland, but it requires resources and innovation-friendly procurement to succeed. This submission calls for a national programme of paid planning and placemaking pilots that will unlock development potential, accelerate housing, proactively tackle dereliction, and enhance citizen engagement.

This upcoming Budget offers the Government the chance to turn legislation into practice. Proptech Ireland proposes a €15 million Digital Planning and Placemaking Pilot Fund (2026–2028).

This fund would:

Unlock Sites – use digital tools to activate small and underused plots.
Accelerate Housing Delivery – streamline applications and pre-planning to meet statutory timelines.
Tackle Dereliction – deploy digital inventories and reporting tools to bring vacant buildings back into use.
Enhance Engagement – pilot hybrid and social listening methods, embedding New European Bauhaus (NEB) principles of design aesthetics, environmental sustainability, and inclusiveness (not just in what places are delivered, but the decision-making process).
Enable Innovation through Procurement Reform – create a new procurement pathway so local authorities can work with early-stage providers, trial novel but unproven technologies, and scale what works.

The UK’s MHCLG Digital Planning programme (ref: https://mhclgdigital.blog.gov.uk/2024/12/03/digital-planning-applying-digital-principles-and-innovation-to-transform-englands-planning-system/) demonstrates the value of this model:

70+ local authority pilots and 120 startups engaged.
36% reduction in application processing times.
300% increase in citizen participation and 85% reduction in officer time to process feedback.

Ireland now has both the legislative framework and the housing urgency to adopt a similar approach.

Why Budget 2026 Must Act

Housing Delivery Under Pressure – Planning permissions fell by 2.5% in Q1 2025; commencements remain weak. Without intervention, housing supply in 2026 will fall short of Housing for All targets.
Dereliction and Vacancy – Hundreds of town centres, villages, and rural sites remain scarred by derelict or vacant buildings, despite strengthened statutory enforcement.
Citizen Trust in Planning – Participation is often dominated by a “loud minority,” leaving broader community voices unheard.
Legislative Imperative – The 2024 Planning and Development Act requires digitalisation, timelines, and enhanced participation. Budget 2026 is the moment to fund delivery.

Proposal: Digital Planning and Placemaking Pilot Fund

Budget 2026 should allocate €15 million over three years (2026–2028) to establish a competitive pilot programme.

Eligibility: Local authorities, Urban Development Zone (UDZ) teams, developer-community partnerships, and approved consortia

Focus Areas:
- Unlocking small and medium sites
- Vacancy and dereliction digital inventories
- Digital statutory consultation
- Social listening and hybrid engagement pilots
- Procurement-enabled technology pilots with early-stage providers

Expected Outcomes by 2028:
- Unlock 15,000+ homes
- Deliver county-level dereliction/vacancy inventories
- Meet statutory planning timelines
- Increase breadth of public participation
- Test 25+ novel technologies, scaling successful solutions nationally

Alignment with the Planning and Development Act 2024

Digitalisation: Pilots will operationalise the Act’s requirement for digital planning systems.
Timelines: Automated workflows and digital tools will support compliance with statutory decision deadlines.
Enforcement: Digital inventories and citizen reporting will enhance dereliction enforcement.
Participation: Hybrid consultation pilots will fulfil obligations for inclusive engagement, aligned with Aarhus Convention rights.
Urban Development Zones (UDZs): Pilots will provide early engagement tools for integrated UDZ planning.

Alignment with New European Bauhaus (NEB) Principles

Each pilot will embed NEB values to ensure Ireland’s planning reforms deliver more than efficiency — they deliver better places:

Beautiful: Encourage design quality and visualisation tools
Sustainable: Prioritise reuse of derelict assets and carbon-efficient digital solutions
Together: Strengthen inclusivity through hybrid participation and social listening

*Annex: Procurement Reform for Innovation

Current procurement rules limit local authorities’ ability to test early-stage solutions. This stifles innovation and prevents the adoption of potentially transformative technologies.

By contrast, the UK’s MHCLG Digital Planning programme succeeded because procurement allowed short, low-risk pilot contracts with startups. Over 70 pilots and 120 startups demonstrated how innovation-friendly procurement can accelerate transformation.

Ireland must reform procurement to enable experimentation through pilot contracts; risk could be reduced through staged evaluations. This would have the effect of supporting SMEs and startups by lowering barriers to entry. Most critically, it would accelerate delivery of housing, dereliction action, and inclusive engagement.

Mechanisms for an Irish Innovation Pathway

Innovation Partnerships: Co-develop technologies from R&D to roll-out under one procedure
Pre-Commercial Procurement: Procure R&D services for solutions not yet available on the market
Small-Scale Pilot Contracting: Simplified procedures for pilots under €250,000
Framework for Digital Planning Innovation: National framework enabling authorities to quickly call-off approved providers
Evaluation: Pilots run for 6–12 months, independently assessed, with options to scale successful pilots or retire unsuccessful solutions

With targeted funding and innovation-friendly procurement, Ireland can unlock stalled housing, tackle dereliction, and build the trusted, technology-enabled planning system that communities deserve.