Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their excellent and extremely informative presentations. While they were all from different perspectives there was repetitiveness, which is a good thing because we clearly understand there is an overarching concern, which is very important.

It was summed up in the presentation by Mr. Hogan, who spoke about establishing a place-making vision on an evidence base which people will understand as a plan and will see as realistic and responsive to their needs and adaptable over time. This sums it up in many ways. It is very important. If we have learnt anything from past experiences it is that it was not realistic, many of the objectives were not achieved and the resources to back up those objectives were not put in place.

As I see it, the national planning framework should reflect the expression of the Government's economic strategy and its commitment and plans for the infrastructure of the country. We have been discussing balanced regional development. During the election earlier this year, if anything kept coming up everywhere at national, local and regional level it was whether there is balanced development throughout the regions.

There is a huge feeling locally that there is no balanced regional development. We saw the negotiations for Government and the programme for Government ticking all the boxes on balanced regional development. This was partly formed by the fall-out of the politics and representation from the rural communities which mobilised. Let us face it, this is a political building. The electorate voted in large numbers for people who advocated balanced regional development. There is a clear political message and I am sure the Minister and those of us in this room are very aware of it.

I was a local councillor for many years, and I am very familiar with the county development plan process. I know the time, lead in and consultation process involved. The witnesses are being very ambitious, and I salute them, but their time plan is unrealistic with regard to all the consultation processes. It is great and I welcome it, as it is important that we have a national spatial strategy, but it is not realistic. I ask the witnesses to respond to this.

As someone who comes from Dún Laoghaire, which has a port, I am particularly interested in the marine spatial strategy. This was evident in the local plan of the area. I do not want to be parochial, but I hear from people throughout the country that local authorities are putting up their hands and stating they do not know about issues as simple as foreshore licences, water and tidal marks and the jurisdiction of port authorities. There is no synergy, and there has not been a proper synergy, regarding what is going on. I ask the witnesses to flesh out their thinking on this.

We have great opportunities.

There are national, regional and local plans. We have 31 local authorities and they need to be involved and to feel involved. I am not just talking about the executive and the planners, but the elected members who represent communities must be involved. Subsidiarity is a system of making decisions at the lowest common denominator where the people's decisions can have a real meaning. I really want to hear more about the detail. I think the Irish Planning Institute, IPI, has made an exceptional presentation. I have not seen a full copy of it because it was in small print. I think it raised really good issues and plays a really helpful and meaningful role in planning in general. The IPI has already appeared before the committee since I have become a member.

We need to provide a clear, simple, realistic national vision and a national strategy. That is where the issues paper, consultation and communication are vital. Local authorities - and I speak as someone with a lot of practice there - feel alienated from the national process. I think it is important that there is a local focus, a regional focus and a national focus.

I have a question on whether the time for the framework is realistic. Brexit and the all-Ireland dimension to planning was raised by the Irish Planning Institute. This is interesting because it will be important. Planning does not stop at the Border. There is synergy in the cross-Border interaction and that potentially will be greater because through adversity and challenges, it raises bigger issues for the island of Ireland's dynamic in agriculture, wind energy, alternative energy, transport and power. There is a range of things. We need an all-island approach to planning.

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. In their response, I would like the witnesses to focus on the timeframe and how it is proposed to engage with the professional planners and the elected members in the local authorities.