“The idea is now being accepted that proper planning is an economy rather than the reverse. Previously, planning was regarded with considerable suspicion and was regarded more as something for cranks and idealists.”
– Lionel Booth TD, Second stage Dáil Debate on Local Government (Planning and Development) Bill, 31st January 1963
The Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 passed its final stages in the Oireachtas on 31 July 1963 and was signed into law by the President on 7 August 1963 before coming into force on 1 October 1964.
Following on from 1934 and 1939 planning legislation, the 1963 Act has been described as when planning “came of age” in Ireland and to mark its 60th Anniversary the Institute is holding a lunchtime panel discussion online from 13:00 to 14:00 on Monday 31 July 2023, 60 years since the passing of the legislation.
It will discuss the background to the legislation, the role of the planning profession at the time and the subsequent founding of the Irish Planning Institute, what it was like operating under the system introduced by the 1963 Act until the Planning and Development Act, 2000 and looking to the future.
Speakers will include President Mary Mac Mahon, Founding Member of the Institute and Past President Enda Conway, Past Presidents Philip Jones and Ciarán Tracey and Paula Russell, UCD. It will be chaired by IPI Senior Planner Seán O’Leary whose book ‘Sense of Place — A History of Irish Planning’ discusses the origins of the 1963 Act and its implications.
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