Local authorities will be forced to take account of planning guidelines from the Dept of the Environment from next year.
Environment Minister John Gormley said that new legislation will be introduced in 2009.
He was speaking at the launch of new guidelines on flood risks, which are aimed at discouraging building in areas at risk from flooding.
Minister Gormley said responsible local authorities would take account of the guidelines; others would be required to do so when the new legislation is in place after Christmas.
He also confirmed that the guidelines will discourage the paving over of entire residential gardens to provide extra car parking.
But he said there were alternatives, such as gravel, which would allow parking without leading to the sort of run-offs that lead to flash-flooding.
Opposition parties said the guidelines were welcome as far as they went, but were too little and too late.
Fine Gael's Terence Flanagan said the Government was great after a crisis but the regulations would be no consolation to home owners who have suffered flooding and now cannot get insurance.
Joanna Tuffy of the Labour Party said the Government and local authorities needed to invest in flood relief and flood prvention.
