Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss the many positive impacts on rural areas that will flow from the national planning framework, to dispel concerns about any connection between the framework and local authority boundary reviews and to hear the views of Deputies on many issues. I have had an opportunity to listen to Deputy Michael Healy-Rae twice on the same issue. I can understand his concerns and his love of local councils. We all agree that they do great work, but many towns had no councils.

As someone who served on an area council, I am aware that there was a lot of duplication of work. I have said umpteen times that there were often delays between different councils operating in the same areas. District areas worked quite well and conserved towns very well, including Navan town in my constituency. This was because the municipal areas covered entire towns. The system worked extremely well.

There is an ongoing review of the size of boundaries and municipal areas. I accept that councillors in Kerry, Mayo and other counties represent large areas and that they do great work. It can be difficult for them to cover such large areas. The system is being reviewed and it is to be hoped that we can all agree on the best way forward when the matter comes before the Cabinet in the months ahead.

It would appear that behind the motion from the Rural Independent Group Deputies is a concern about the draft national planning framework and what it proposes in respect of rural areas. I want to be clear. I represent Meath and Westmeath. There are large urban areas in those counties. The position is similar with the greater Dublin region, which Deputy Cassels represents. We also represent very rural areas, including the northern part of Meath and Westmeath. We understand exactly what Deputies are trying to say. The national planning framework is not to the detriment of rural areas. Rather, it is about trying to rebalance employment, housing and other services throughout all of the regions and help rural areas.

It is important to recognise that the Joint Committee and Housing, Planning and Local Government will tomorrow consider the draft framework and will have a chance to express its views in the final version of the document. The matter will be discussed in the House and by the committee. The latter will consider the work and views of the House. The process continues, following an informal briefing.

There is a great deal for urban and rural areas in Ireland 2040. The most important element of the national planning framework is having an overall plan for our country's strategic development, not just rural or urban areas. Rather, rural and urban areas should work together for the overall benefit of our communities and future. This is about our future and looking ten, 20 or 25 years ahead, something we, as politicians, should do on a regular basis. Too often we discuss the crisis of a given week or year in the House. This is about trying to ensure that we all take a long-term view. We are all involved and it will be a Dáil document looking 20 or 25 years ahead. That is what we are trying to do in order to get the balance right in terms of education, health, job creation and so on.

I will turn to some specifics. A couple of key points need to made. In the context of future population growth, the framework envisages a broadly even split between the future growth of our cities and wider regions and rural areas. It is a sensible and reasonable approach, recognising that our cities and wider rural areas need to grow in a structured and harmonious way. On the other hand, the reality of not having a plan, as many Deputies will be aware, can mean vast developments on the edges of our cities and towns, with a general denuding of small towns and villages and older city cores alike. Towns have suffered from a lack of investment and economic purpose for 20 or 30 years. This has not happened during the recession of the past ten years alone. Some rural areas have been in decline and suffered from depopulation for 20 or 30 years. We are trying to put life back into some of these places.

Unless we begin to do something about this now, this will lead to many possible serious consequences in terms of social disadvantage, the need to expend significant sums of money on urban regeneration and in playing an endless game of chase in respect of investing in new infrastructure in fast-growing areas. The sprawl, and certainly unplanned sprawl, must stop. It is very important that to make certain areas sustainable, the population must increase to make them viable for the provision of services. We have seen this in many towns and villages around the greater Dublin region. Towns and villages throughout the country should be built up to serve cities and work off them as well. This document will help to try to plan where we are going with each town and village in all our counties. There must be a logic to which we can all subscribe that will balance services in a sustainable way that we can afford.

If we think a sprawl-based development pattern is right for our future, we face a lose-lose scenario for both rural and urban areas. We need a plan to deal with at least an extra million people living in the Republic, which will take the population to 5.75 million people. On the whole island, the population will increase to approximately 8 million people, and we must plan for that and see where we can put people's homes in order that they can be close to a job and various services.

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