Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I did listen with interest to the debate. One of the facts that was not overlooked but that was not accorded the importance it deserved was that a review can be instigated at any time. That is important. We have seen really significant growth since the last census, in 2022. There was a delay in the full publication of the data because of Covid. The Deputy made a point that I actually agreed with when in opposition and that I now agree with in government, namely that what we started with in 2016 was too conservative. That speaks to a discussion we had last week on allowing flexibility regarding headroom for development based on seeing new populations coming in, even within an NPF. We discussed at length last week the view that the ceiling should not be seen as arbitrary, so a planning authority could have the flexibility to make decisions on the grounds of, God forbid, something like another Ukraine war. One very serious event on the Continent has increased our population by between 80,000 and 100,000 people. It depends on the number of people who go home.

With regard to the timeframe, it takes time to prepare the final census data. Tying the timeframe for reviewing the NPF to the occurrence of the census rather than the publication of the census results may result in an inadequate period in which to review the data. I understood the point the Deputy was making. I do not believe we are going back 12 years. At worst, one could argue that at the end of a ten-year NPF plan, one could be looking back 12 years. The Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, dealt really well with the operation of the development plans. What we will be dealing with in this regard is the extension of the development plan cycle to have much more forward thinking. I am referring to a ten-year development plan with a proper mid-term review. Any government worth its salt that is witnessing the population increase should regard the NPF as very important. It is not produced in isolation. We also have the census data, the ESRI input and the Housing Commission input. It is a matter of looking into how the first NPF, dating from 2016, used the data, even through examining house sizes. House sizes have changed since 2016. The size per number of people has changed. We will now have a much better base to start with. I do not believe we will be using data that could be 12 years old. In this regard, I understood the Deputy's earlier point. I genuinely believe future Governments will revise on the basis of further population growth, as is permitted. A local authority can do that. We are strengthening within the legislation local members' input in respect of how they can initiate changes to their own area development plans. The discussion we had last week or the week before about the HNDAs and, more important, the housing supply targets within each area, in addition to the flexibility allowed within each local authority, is relevant to this discussion. I did listen with interest, so I am going to reflect on the matter further.