Draft Ministerial Direction
Update of 5 May 2026
Six sites no longer subject to the Draft Direction of 8 November 2024
The Minister has decided NOT TO ISSUE a Direction to Sligo County Council in relation to six sites which were included in the Draft Direction of 8 November 2024.
The following sites shall retain their zoning as adopted by the Elected Members on 30 September 2024:
Sligo Town:
PAZ-9 – 2.48 ha zoned nRES (new residential) at Farranacardy, north-western edge of the town
PAZ-13 – 27.08 ha zoned nRES to the south-west of the interchange between the N4 dual carriageway and the Western Distributor Road
Ballysadare:
PAZ-42 – 3.36 ha zoned nRES at the north-eastern edge of Ballysadare
PAZ-44 – 2.29 ha zoned BIE (business, enterprise, industry) at the western end of the village, adjoining the N59 on the south side of the road
Strandhill:
PAZ-57 – 4.02 ha zoned nRES adjoining the eastern side of the Golf Club, Golf Course Road and the National School
Gorteen:
PAZ-80 – 0.91 ha zoned RV (rural village) at the western end of the village
A Ministerial decision will issue at a later date in respect of the remaining parts of the Draft Direction.
Draft Ministerial Direction
On 8 November 2024, Alan Dillon, the Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, gave notice of his intention to issue a direction to Sligo County Council to take certain measures regarding the Sligo County Development Plan 2024-2030, consequent to a recommendation made by the Office of the Planning Regulator on 27 October 2024.
The Minister’s notice was accompanied by a draft of the Direction and a request to publish notice of the Draft Direction no later than two weeks after receipt of the Minister's notice.
Public consultation on the Draft Direction took place from 25 November to 9 December 2024. A total of 113 submissions were received during this period. All submissions are published on Sligo County Council’s Consultation Portal at https://consult.sligococo.ie/en/browse
On 14 January 2025, the Chief Executive’s Report on submissions relating to the Draft Direction was sent to the Elected Members of Sligo County Council, the Office of the Planning Regulator, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly.