Mr. Niall Cussen:

Population growth and the places where development has taken place in Ireland over the past decade or so paint a contrasting picture and pose key challenges that must be faced in preparing the national planning framework. On one hand, rural areas on the edges and in the environs of strongly performing urban areas are being built up at quite high rates. These areas are growing very fast and infrastructure provision and management of environmental pressures are proving very challenging. On the other hand, remoter rural areas and small to medium-sized towns and villages are presenting with a striking trend of depopulation and the spectre of empty dwellings and shops in what were once vibrant and viable towns and villages.

It would appear to the Department that some of the key factors driving the most rapid patterns of growth outward from city and town cores include: increasing costs and complexity in developing new housing in central urban areas which has to compete for land with higher-return commercial development and is drawn, instead, to cheaper land and development costs associated with edge or greenfield development; enhanced accessibility of large areas around the main cities and towns as a result of recent motorway and public transport investment, bringing with it a pressure on development; household choices that trade affordability and dwelling size for proximity to employment, a factor which often relates to the life stages of the households in question, with young people wanting to be in the centre and people with families looking for more space until, at a later stage of life, they want to return close to the services again; and the ready availability of zoned lands in edge locations coupled with broadly flexible rural settlement policies.

I will not go through all the statistics in the paper but I will highlight a few points. We have a national vacant house reuse strategy which is in the final stages of development. This is a major issue in terms of the broader challenges we face. Looking at the levels of vacancy in rural housing stock in the census of 2016, it is very notable that the areas with the highest proportions of one-off housing provision are the areas with the highest proportion of vacancy and where population has stabilised or declined and is ageing.

The CSO data suggest that long-term vacancy is more of an issue in rural than in urban areas. A sample of vacant properties in rural areas showed that almost 21.7% of empty properties were listed as long-term vacant, which is almost twice the rate of the sample taken in the Dublin area. The evidence could be seen, therefore, to suggest that while the supply and proportion of single houses in the countryside in many western parts of the country is high, these are the very areas continuing to trend towards long-term rural depopulation and decline, most notably in terms of their smaller towns and villages. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional and Rural Affairs, Deputy Humphreys, highlighted the need to revitalise smaller towns and villages for the benefit of the committee when discussing the Government’s Action Plan for Rural Development and the pillars of the policy for sustaining rural communities.

Many NPF public consultation submissions expressed concerns about the construction of identikit suburban-style housing estates in many of our smaller towns and villages in the commuter belts, and a dearth of attractive housing location alternatives to households that wish to self-build. The evidence could furthermore suggest that there needs to be a renewed focus on policies and mechanisms to appropriately manage the development of smaller towns and villages within the commuter belt that are under pressure from overspill development, as well as to turn around the fortunes of smaller towns and villages in remoter and economically flagging areas with a focus on jobs and local economic, social and residential development.

There are various tasks being undertaken in the preparation of the national planning framework. The varying development issues and challenges facing the strategic development of Ireland’s countryside highlight a contrast between the areas under pressure versus those that are being depopulated and have weak small towns and villages at their core. We would welcome the committee's views on a couple of issues, particularly the future role of our smaller settlements and how those that are struggling to retain basic services and economic viability might be turned around in light of wider societal changes, particularly the ageing of our population, online transactions for retailing and basic services, and a preference for urban lifestyles, particularly on the part of younger people who are drawn to the bright lights.

We would welcome hearing the committee's views on how serviced sites for self builders might be provided at reasonable cost in rural communities. The cost of a site or starting a home is a big factor for younger households in rural communities. We would also welcome hearing the committee's views on how we provide that alternative for them in small towns and villages, the potential role of local authorities in the provision of that type of alternative and measures to prevent the displacement of urban and suburban housing estates that are really better suited to larger cities and towns to smaller rural settlements. Many members, including the Chairman, know that this has been a very strong trend over the past decade. We would welcome hearing the committee's views on the best mechanisms to ensure a healthy balance between ensuring dispersed rural communities can meet their housing needs and, at the same time, ensuring we build up smaller towns and villages to act as focal points in their areas.

The Department is advancing the draft national planning framework, NPF, to be with Government by the end or middle of next month. On approval of the draft, it is expected that it will be placed on public display over the summer months. It is anticipated that the NPF will be approved by the Oireachtas in the autumn. We are happy to address whatever questions or issues members wish to discuss with us.