John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Tóibín for raising the matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Murphy, and for providing me with the opportunity to discuss the population growth projections for County Meath as set out under the national planning framework.

The suggestion being put forward that there is a "cap" on housing delivery in County Meath is erroneous and misleading, but it is also disappointing given that, instead of a focus on more and more commuter-driven development, future planning for the county needs to take account of past mistakes. We are all familiar with recent and historic trends when the county saw very high levels of housing development without the matching growth in local employment opportunities and provision of essential amenities and community services for fast growing communities. It seems as if those putting about the notion of a "cap" are trying to use the current housing issues to create an opportunity to go back to old and failed models of "zone and build" that, while rewarding landowners and developers with high financial returns from speculative housing development, do not tackle the issues facing existing communities in Meath from previous suburban expansion, such as congested roads, pressure on schools, limited amenities and a general sense of housing being provided ahead of jobs and services, not the other way around.

The strategic planning policies outlined in Project Ireland 2040 are aimed at a different path to what we saw in the Celtic tiger era. That is clearly what people wanted, as evidenced during the public consultation: self-sustaining jobs and services-centred planning and development, not just housing growth for the sake of housing growth. Nevertheless, it is vital that we plan for future growth, so a very detailed examination of estimates of housing, employment and population changes in an overall national and regional context was undertaken by the ESRI for my Department. In addition, development of a draft regional spatial and economic strategy for the Dublin, midlands and east region is based on these projected national population growth targets, which were communicated by my Department to all local and regional authorities in early July.

The facts are that the current guide for planning for future population growth in County Meath out to 2026 is for an additional 26,000 people above 2016 levels, equivalent to adding the entire combined populations of Ashbourne, Kells and Trim to the county in a ten-year period. How this very high level of growth is to be planned for on the ground is rightly a matter for Meath County Council to determine as part of its county development plan, which must be reviewed after the regional spatial and economic strategy has been finalised. The county development plan review process must also ensure there is capacity for up to a further 25% of the projected population target to 2026, or an additional 6,500 people, as development does not simply stop in 2026. This means that the next Meath county development plan will need to set out how the county can accommodate an additional 32,500 people to 2026. In this context, far from any cap on growth, there is plenty of scope to ensure the continued growth and development of Meath but on a sustainable basis that is about a balanced work-life based approach, not just the commuter-based development that was so prevalent in Meath and other parts of the country in the past.

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