Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the comments of my colleagues. I was going to finish on the benefits the town centre first policy has for our climate, but I will start with them, given my colleague has ended with his. I agree with him it is very beneficial to have a county architect involved in these things. As a former councillor, along with my colleague, Deputy O'Callaghan, in the same electoral ward all those years ago, we had a county manager who was an architect, which was very beneficial.

However, we made mistakes where significant out-of-town development, especially retail development, occurred, and that has predicated this policy. Looking back as a former councillor 11 years ago who started back in 2004, I regret that it was the common and done thing. As a result of those development plans that passed in the 2000s and were developed in that decade and into the latter part of the past decade, we saw a lot of development occurring outside of town centres which drew people out of the town and had a very negative consequence, especially when the economy crashed.

It is very positive that the Government has taken this step, which has followed on from a number of other policies done on a smaller scale. This, as an opportunity to link everybody in to a policy driven on a local basis, is a welcome initiative. The town centre first policy, as my colleague mentioned in terms of dereliction, encourages people to reuse their town centre in terms of spaces above shops and derelict sites, among other things. The Minister has pushed very hard for derelict pubs, for instance, to be retasked as residential without the need for planning permission, which again is a very welcome endeavour, because there are a number of such establishments.

I can think of a couple in my constituency that would benefit very much from that policy initiative. I believe this policy will inject new life into our towns and drive local jobs. It will take people out of cars. It will not even require them to use their cars if they are living or working, or both, in a town centre. That is to be welcomed.

The development of the national oversight and advisory group along with town centre first policy officers in local authorities will help ensure the implementation of this policy is as smooth as possible. Throughout the pandemic, we saw the value of our localities, particularly when we were restricted to 2 km. That seems far-fetched now but it was only last year. We saw the potential being delivered in towns and communities throughout the country, with outdoor dining and all the various attributes of the pandemic. The policy will focus on dereliction and vacant properties, bringing great economic advantages to towns.

The 2016 census identified that 58% of people in Ireland actually live in towns and villages, and thus this policy will not leave any community untouched. In conjunction with the likes of the national broadband plan, we will see the expansion of remote working hubs, which again was highlighted this week by the relevant Minister. That has the potential to inject a new lease of life into many communities that perhaps have been a little neglected in recent decades.

My colleague also mentioned the engagement with voluntary, resident and business groups. That in itself as a driver of community-led plans is a real benefit to what this policy offers communities. Lusk in my constituency was one of the first communities under the scheme to receive a grant of €100,000 of the €2.6 million that was allocated in December of last year.

Investing in our towns will also help ease the housing burden on our major urban centres, combined with Government action on rural and urban regeneration and development as well as the LEADER programme. We now have the possibility to improve radically the standard of living within our towns. I anticipate that many of the communities in my constituency of Fingal, particularly in the northern end in Rush, Lusk, Donabate, Skerries, Balbriggan and beyond, and especially the smaller towns sandwiched between the M1 and M2, will have a real opportunity to look at this plan and get together with the county council and their councillors to work out something that will be of benefit to the community and society at large.

The scheme will also help aid our goals in creating more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly towns. The strength of the policy lies within its flexibility and tailored approach. There is a simplified grant process with wrap-around supports and the ability to impact on the biggest challenges in our country, namely, housing, climate action and job creation.

I started with the climate part of it, which is very much to be welcomed because there are great opportunities . If we encourage more people to live in our centres in communities, as I mentioned, they have will less distance to travel. Even things like encouraging them to use public transport becomes much easier to do, particularly in the context of the investment we have seen in public transport throughout the country. Admittedly, it is focused one third or two thirds towards our major cities, but one of the fantastic attributes, especially within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, is the significant spend on community infrastructure like footpaths, cycle tracks and even pedestrianisation. While I agree with that in principle, it has to go through the correct legal process, which as my colleague will know, is a bone of contention in my community.

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