Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. The preparation of development plans are important and shape the development of a county for the life of the plan. At their heart has to be the principal of participation and a commitment by local and central government that the vision set out in the written statements and maps comes to fruition. Meath County Council's plan is at an advanced stage. Today is the deadline for submissions on the material amendments. The final amended plan is expected to be completed in October or November of this year. In many respects, Meath County Council has been a guinea pig in all of this. From the council's perspective, officials have worked very hard to work through the review of the plan in the midst of Covid. They have been innovative. New online portals have been successfully developed, for example, and meetings have happened in person, online and in hybrid formats.

It has not been without issue. There are ongoing legal issues regarding access to taped recordings of the meetings. That would not happen ordinarily, but because of the new Covid restricted format we have them. How that information should be used is a bone of some considerable contention. Is it an official record of the meeting and its interactions and votes, etc., or is it an aid for preparing the official minutes?

More fundamentally, in Meath there is a question of the impact of the plan on the future social and economic development of the county. I refer in particular to the issue of dezoning. A couple of weeks ago, the Business Postcarried a headline stating, "Meath dezones a third of housing lands to mitigate climate change". In the middle of a housing crisis in a county that, relative to others, has shown some capacity to deliver houses we are proposing to significantly constrain residential development in urban settings with the dezoning of 319 ha. That is enough land for 9,500 new homes. There are the most outrageous of constraints on people in rural communities. The bar will be so high it will mean it is nigh on impossible to build a one-off house.

At the root of the county development plan is the ambition of local people, through their representatives, to deliver the best for their communities. They do not ask for much. Communities like Ashbourne, Ratoath, Dunshaughlin, Dunboyne, Stamullen and many others in my constituency of Meath East have lived through and with the consequences of the Celtic tiger, including developer-led rampant development, with light or no touch regulation. Houses have been built, but when it came to community infrastructure, including community centres, créches, playgrounds, public green spaces and parks it could not and cannot be done. In Ashbourne, the community is united in its call for a public park of regional scale. Before the deadline this afternoon, close to 2,500 submissions in support of a proposal to zone lands for an 80-acre park will have been submitted. That is incredible. I want to commend everyone from the community and across the political spectrum who had a role in getting us to this point. I want to commend, in particular, the Ashbourne Playspace Network and, more recently, the Ashbourne Public Greenspaces Community Group for their tireless work over many years.

The community in Ashbourne is a perfect example of a community that is organised and playing its part. Members of the community engaged, lobbied, argued, petitioned, fundraised, protested and campaigned. Men and women – mostly women - have fought for the best for their community and children. It is not much that they ask for - a playground, public park and safe place to bring their children, go for a walk or run, play or kick a ball. It is incredible that they have to do that at all.

At every turn, they meet resistance. The council is either reluctant or dealing with its own funding and other constraints. The Government, be it led by Fine Gael or Fianna Fáil, has added nothing. Communities are doing all the right things but are being failed. This needs to change now.

I invite the Minister to Ashbourne. He has a role to play, as does his Department. He should meet the local councillors and community groups. The county development plan and zoning issues will run their course. Regardless of their outcome, though, the community wants and deserves a public park. I implore the Minister and his Department to work with Meath County Council to make that happen. A meeting with stakeholders would be a help. The Minister has been to Ashbourne and I have met him there many times. There is an opportunity now. There is considerable popular support for this proposal across the political divide. It can happen and I would welcome the Minister's support in making it happen.

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