Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)

A national planning framework should be a road map for fairness, decent living standards, balanced development and a future where no community is written off. What we have before us in the draft framework falls far short of that. It is a framework that gestures at ambition but lacks the backbone to deliver. It reads more like a vague wish list than a serious plan for action. This Government has failed to close the gap on many fronts, but especially in this document, between policy and delivery. Whether in the inner city or the rural parish, communities are battling for school spaces, access to a GP and gardaí, and left dealing with outdated and inadequate public transport links. The housing crisis is impacting all communities, rural and urban. By every metric, it is getting worse by the week.

The draft framework marks a slight shift by acknowledging these problems but offers no urgency, no binding targets and no real change in how power or funding is distributed. For years, rural Ireland has been neglected rather than supported. The current approach to rural housing is a case in point. It is often restrictive, inflexible and dogmatic. If a young family wants to build a home in the community they grew up in, then the State should support that. We need real investment in the basics in housing, connectivity, accessible public services and a planning system takes into account the needs of rural communities. A future in which rural communities thrive requires more than fine words. It requires the political will to back them with action.

Tá pobal na Gaeltachta fágtha ar lár arís agus arís eile. Tá sé soiléir nach bhfuil an Rialtas seo sásta ár bpobail Ghaeltachta a chosaint. Níl sa phlean seo ach ráitis agus gealltanais bhriste. Tá treoirlínte pleanála don Ghaeltacht fós gan foilsiú. Tá teaghlaigh óga ag fanacht, ag éirí mífhoighneach agus ag imeacht óna gceantair dhúchais. Tá an Ghaeilge agus pobal na Gaeltachta i mbaol má leanaimid leis seo. Ní leor focail. Tá gá le gníomh, le spriocanna soiléire do thithíocht shóisialta agus inacmhainne, le suímh sheirbhísithe sna Gaeltachtaí, le maoiniú dáiríre agus le polasaithe a thugann tús áite do phobail atá ag iarraidh maireachtáil agus fás trí Ghaeilge.

We cannot talk about planning without talking about power, including who holds it and who gets left out. Where is the emphasis in this document on community development and social inclusion? Where is the vision for a better, fairer and more inclusive Ireland? I do not see it. Sinn Féin believes community-led development is not optional but essential. Funding must flow directly to communities, both urban and rural. LEADER, regeneration funds and youth services are not luxuries, but the difference between vibrant communities and places drained of opportunity.

This framework is silent on coastal and fishing communities. That silence is damning. These communities are being hammered by EU quotas, underinvestment and the loss of young people, yet they are rich in potential for renewable energy, marine tourism and sustainable seafood. Sinn Féin believes in our coastal communities and our maritime potential and we have articulated that over many years. Successive Governments have failed to recognise the potential of our hugely valuable maritime resource. Sustainable and community-driven initiatives to exploit that resource need to be developed. The NPF should reflect that but it does not. It has no fleshed-out plan on maintaining and expanding our working harbours, supporting small-scale fishers or investing in other infrastructure.

The blue economy - fishing, tourism, aquaculture, renewable energy, sea safety, trade and maritime defence - are neglected in this document. The draft framework needs clearer targets, named projects and guaranteed delivery in every county, not just in the major cities and their commuter belts. Otherwise, our time is being wasted again. There is no reference to the development of Waterford Airport, for example, the port or the main routes of the N24 and N25, which are becoming more dangerous, congested and inadequate every day. There are harbours that barely have water due to a lack of dredging. Developing offshore wind energy was spoken about, yet one cannot even get a punt out of a harbour. This draft lacks urgency, vision and a tangible plan for rural communities. Sinn Féin will not support any version of the NPF that does not place the needs of communities front and centre. It is time to deliver more than promises; it is time to deliver real change.

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