Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Cowen addressed the issue of curbing sprawling areas. I agree with the need to address in-fill in town centres where opportunities present, but it must be backed up with Government incentives, as happened previously when urban renewable and tax incentive schemes incentivised such development. This approach should be measured, though, given that it is a case of horses for courses and not everything is the same. Things were done wrong in certain regional centres.

That the strategy refers to fostering economic growth on the one hand and spreading it out smoothly and evenly across the country on the other is neither realistic nor practical. The people of Ireland know well that there is no even growth. They passed their judgment on that matter last year, so it is disheartening to see that ethos nearly being copperfastened in black and white in the plan. Instead of making a genuine attempt to try to reverse it, the plan only compounds it. The plan asks what will happen if nothing is done. Unfortunately, many of its aspects are reinforcing the overheating of the Dublin region. That it was not me or another politician but the Limerick chief executive who this week asked for a fair crack of the whip in trying to achieve a counterbalance is striking and should be heeded.

I appreciate that this is a draft plan and I hope there will be good, honest and robust exchanges to give people in the regions a fair chance, but the Minister of State knows from his long time in local government that what has been set out in this statutory document, which will filter down to the subservient regional, county and local plans, will lead to a great deal more restrictiveness. A methodology has been set out for that.

There must be capital investment to support these population centres, be they Navan, Drogheda or any other town, to give them the fair opportunity about which this plan speaks so passionately.

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