Pat Casey (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I take the opportunity to thank the three organisations for their presentations this morning. I go against the comments of Senator Victor Boyhan on the Irish Planning Institute. The Irish Planning Institute, in the course of its presentation today, gave percentage statistics on the number of permissions granted for one-off rural housing. It stated the number of permissions was between 30% to 52% of all planning permission granted. It was stated it had become easier to get planning permission for one-off rural houses. I think the statistic is misleading and has not been put in context. As a person who lives in a house that was a one-off rural house, I can guarantee that it has not become easier to get permission. This statistic is in the context of few planning applications being submitted to local authorities at the time. That is the reason the percentage of permissions for one-off rural housing granted was between 30% and 52% of the applications. I think in fairness that must be made public. If one took the number of applications for one-off houses during the period of the Celtic tiger, one would see a significant decline in the percentage granted. What has been presented here today is an unfair presentation of the number of one-off rural housing. The ongoing problem with one-off rural housing is that we are not providing ample opportunities in our towns and villages for people to build in them. I would like the Irish Planning Institute to acknowledge that what has been presented here today is not factually correct when put in context.

The national framework policy, now known as the new regional economic strategy, is fantastic but when one deals with people on the ground, it is difficult enough to get them to understand the local area plans and the county development plans and they see nothing at the end of the timeframe. However, by the time one mentions regional planning and national spatial planning, one has lost the public. They have equally lost faith in the system of delivering what they want for themselves.

I welcome Councillor Pat Vance, my colleague from Wicklow, who on Monday went through his fourth if not fifth county development plan process. Equally I acknowledge that these have now become statutory documents, which is a move in the right direction.

Recently I asked a question in the Dáil about the National Transport Authority's document, entitled Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin area 2016-2035. Which will come first? The NTA stated, "The Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008 and the Planning and Development Act 2000, which state that the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (formerly Regional Planning Guidelines), Development Plans and Local Area Plans in the GDA must be consistent with the Authority's Transport Strategy." We try to consider economic development outside of Dublin. The strategy does nothing for regional economic growth. We are talking about the province of Leinster and the counties outside of Dublin. The strategy is completely restrictive of any growth potential. It states that it will maintain the current percentage level of economic activity in those counties. That provision does not address the fundamental problem of having 75% of the population commuting to Dublin daily. The strategy clearly states that regional, county and local policies must take cognisance of the NTA's strategy that is on a statutory footing. Who is the boss in this situation? Who is driving whom?

I am amazed that members from the regional authorities can interact with the strategy. The National Transport Authority launched the document this year. The strategy does nothing for economic growth and will not alleviate the urban-rural divide that will be created. The planning framework stipulates that we need to develop jobs where people live.