Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been successfully elected on three occasions to this House and I know that this debate will not permeate to any great extent to the wider community, that the decisions taken on the national plan more than likely will not form part of the banter on the doorsteps at the next election and that the positions taken by political parties or individuals will probably not form much of the discourse during the course of an election. If we have learned anything from the crisis, however, it is the necessity for greater political input in long-term strategies and thinking. The fact that Members are having this discussion at the tail end of the week's business, when other Deputies have already left, demonstrates that we are not putting it centre stage, which is a sad reflection. We spoke in recent days of the way in which bankers have gone back to form and how, to some extent, no lessons have been learned. I am sure there are those who would suggest that elements of this House, notwithstanding the new arrangements, have, in not putting something as important as this centre stage, gone back to type and form.

The draft document contains a strategy that is east coast-centric. I do not come in here just as a representative of the west of Ireland. I try in all circumstances to consider what is in the best interests of the country. Given the way in which the numbers have been presented, we will see the east coast region continue to grow more rapidly than I think is sustainable and in a way that does not assist the development and creation of a counter-pole to that development. The framework breaks the country into three new regions, namely, the northern and western region, which is made up of counties Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Roscommon, Sligo, Donegal, Mayo and Galway; the southern region, which is made up of counties Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford, Cork, Tipperary, Kerry, Limerick and Clare; and then the eastern and midland, region comprising counties Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Meath, Louth, Laois, Offaly, Westmeath and Longford. The draft document forecasts that the northern and western and southern regions combined should grow at broadly comparable rates to the eastern and midland region. That is not an effective strategy in terms of balanced regional development, to which I think all parties in this House subscribe. However, there is a difference between subscribing to the principle and delivering it. The framework proposes that the five cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford will be targeted to accommodate 50% of overall national growth between them, with a population growth target of 52,000 allocated to Limerick city, which is a central piece of the infrastructure of the mid-west region.

A deeper dive into these statistics would, instead of giving reassurance that the economic imbalance will be addressed, give rise to the belief that the status quoof the greater Dublin area significantly outpacing the rest of the economy is going unchecked. The national planning framework, NPF, fails to give an accurate projected population breakdown. It assesses the population across regions rather than applying a more precise breakdown as per the national spatial strategy or, better still, on a county-by-county basis. I can only assume this is because the use of this three-region make-up, not least the eastern and midlands conglomerate, camouflages the true extent of the regional economic and investment disparity that is set to be created under this new plan. Projected population growth is a key indicator as to where infrastructure spend goes and, with the national planning framework, we are somehow expected to buy into commonality across a region that includes counties Dublin and Longford. The inclusion of counties Wexford and Clare in the same region - or counties Mayo and Cavan - suggests there is some shared infrastructure requirement.

If one were to take population growth trends from previous censuses to try and distil where exactly the population growth will happen in the key region - eastern and midlands - it would suggest that almost 85% of the 500,000 or so that this region’s expected population growth by 2040 will take place in counties Dublin, Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. Using the same trends, while Dublin will be gaining 250,000 people, Longford would benefit to the tune of approximately 5,000. The NPF tells us that Dublin’s population equates to that of the next 40 cities and towns combined and it would appear that this will, if anything, be exacerbated. It also tells us that Ireland 2040 is based on an ESRI projection. If that is the case, it gives rise to further concern, as an ESRI study, for example, carried out for NAMA in 2014 looked at the estimated annual average increase in the number of households from 2011 to 2021 and 86% of the anticipated housing stock needed was accounted for by counties Dublin, Louth, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

This report is a deliberate attempt to confuse and cloud the reality of its intentions, which is to facilitate continued economic imbalance that is going to leave regions such as the mid-west, west and north west lagging further behind and making Dublin more uncompetitive, chaotic and congested for its citizens. It singularly fails to capitalise on the clear opportunity of transforming these regions into dynamic economic powerhouses to ease the pressure on Dublin. It is unimaginative and uninspired.

On specific NPF shortcomings from a mid-west perspective, which is central to my constituency, key future growth enablers were omitted in this draft. Take, for example, Shannon Airport. While there is a "High Quality International Connectivity" section which references Shannon as being among the main airports, along with those of Cork, Dublin and Knock, the only recommendations are for Dublin Airport, namely, the development of additional runway and terminal facilities such as the second runway for Dublin Airport for which planning permission has been approved. Equally, it refers to "Enhancing land-side access and particularly in public transport terms such as through the Metro-North project in Dublin".

What it does not refer to in any way is the importance of Shannon Airport in attracting foreign direct investment, FDI, and tourism to County Clare and the mid-west. More than 40% of FDI from the United States is located within the catchment of Shannon Airport, which clearly reflects the airport's strategic value to the national economy. In the context of the 16 FDI announcements in the mid-west region last year, all of the companies involved specifically noted Shannon Airport as a key factor in their investment decisions. If we want regions outside Dublin to realise their potential, the national planning framework must recognise the need to fully utilise these State assets. It is in the national interest to do so.

In the past ten years, Dublin Airport has experienced unprecedented growth, with its market share increasing from 73% in 2006 to 85% in 2016. Conversely, Shannon and Cork airports' market share plummeted in the same period. Cork Airport's market share declined from 10% in 2006 to 6% in 2017, while Shannon Airport's market share declined from 13% to 5% in the same period. Shannon Airport has an annual capacity of 4.5 million passengers, while Cork Airport has capacity for close to 3 million passengers. Both airports are, therefore, well capable of alleviating the current pressure on Dublin Airport. If both were to prosper, it would also trigger regional economic prosperity.

The national planning framework should recognise the importance of growing business parks such as the Shannon free zone. It must also address policy support for the Limerick northern distributor road, the development of which will enable the city to grow on the northern half, thereby improving access to the University of Limerick, the IDA Ireland national technology park, Shannon International Airport and businesses and industries in the Shannon area. From my perusal of the document, however, no reference is made to this project, the benefits of which would significantly enhance the attractiveness of the region from a research, innovation and development perspective.

The national planning framework proposes a faster rail link between Dublin and Cork but fails to recognise that Limerick and the mid-west region also require a faster rail link. This is an unfortunate development. I recently spoke to the European Commissioner for Transport, Ms Violeta Bulc. The Commission has been promoting connectivity between cities and regions through high-speed rail links. It is clear that, as demand and activity at Dublin Airport continue to grow, further terminal and runway space will be required. Rather than having a third runway at the airport, which will definitely be on the agenda as soon as a second runway is built, we should consider the redundant capacity at Shannon and Cork airports and develop high-speed rail connections between these cities and Dublin. This would deliver better utilisation of the airports and Cork, Limerick and the surrounding regions would benefit immensely from a high-speed rail link with the capital. While we all recognise the importance of having appropriate funding and infrastructure for Dublin, the plan can also allow other cities and regions to thrive and prosper. The missing piece is to provide high-speed links between these cities.

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