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

It is my fault. I had copies with me but I forgot to arrange for them to be handed out.

In fairness to Deputy Casey, he asked at the end of the debate on the planning Bill if we would have a discussion on this matter. I am sure that can be facilitated either in the House or in committee because in our Department we like to do that and talk through what we are trying to achieve with these regional plans. I know the Deputy genuinely wants to ensure there is proper planning, and there is scope in the case of Wicklow, which is projected to have population growth of 15,000 by 2026, plus another 8,000 on top of that. The question is how we make sure that happens and go forward with the plan in a co-ordinated way thereafter. That is a fair increase in population. Likewise, the figure for Kildare is in excess of 31,000. That is a lot of people to accommodate, and I am not convinced this will happen as quickly as people believe it will. The regional plans are a means of talking that through and working that out.

To be clear to Deputy O'Loughlin, I have always said that we need proper planning. That is what the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, wants, and it is what I want. That is the purpose of the planning framework in terms of our planners. I have been consistent on that throughout my 20 year political career. We did not see good planning in Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and many other counties, and we are trying to achieve that. The obsession should not be with the targets. It should be with having proper planning and building more houses while at the same time providing the infrastructure, the necessary community services, jobs and so on.

4 o’clock

In the past, we had the houses but did not have the jobs to match them. That is why we got clogged up. It is not that we are trying to cap any particular area, but we must consider how to achieve that ambition in a proper, planned and co-ordinated way. That is what we are trying to achieve through the regional and county plans.

I accept that the debate has become focused on targets and caps. We need to move away from that and have a good discussion on good planning. We are happy to do that because there is agreement to be reached here. We also want to bring the councils on board with the regional plans. It is good planning and we are all part of that. We are discussing it in the House endlessly. We are going to have a two-hour debate now about housing failures. They are to do with poor planning and investment in the past but we are trying to get it right for the future. That is what we are trying to achieve through this as well.

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