Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak in support of the revised national planning framework. I welcome the revision. It also acknowledges the changed context of the need to accelerate housing construction. It is important to emphasise the equal importance of infrastructure and all the associated services that need to be delivered. The revised framework represents the step-change that we need. I hope that, in tandem with the full commencement of the Planning and Development Act 2024, we will see that step-change in terms of delivery.

I come to this debate with a dual perspective, namely as a Member of Dáil Éireann but also, like many colleagues in the House, as a former county councillor who was involved in the formation of a county development plan. Such plans, for anyone who is new to politics, are instructive in how the entire planning process and the planning framework are set up in terms of the hierarchy of regional and local needs. They are also quite instructive for those of us who are frustrated with the pace of the delivery of housing in the context of how comprehensive and significant is the overall volume of movement that is required.

Making this revision and extending it to local authorities demonstrates the agility that we need to see at all levels across the State in terms of coping with the need for the accelerated provision of housing but when it comes to thinking about how we future-proof the developments we need to put in place. It is important that the Department and the Minister extend that agility to the local and regional authorities in terms of how they take direction from the national planning framework and bring it to their elected members for translation into local county and city development plans. It is also important to ensure that there are no gaps and that it is treated with a housing first urgency by all authorities across the State.

Like many Members, I have been acquainted with decisions that have been made by local authorities, in and outside Dublin, which seem to fly in the face of housing first and the urgency relating to housing delivery that we hear about on the airwaves and in this House. It is almost a case that it is being made difficult for developers to proceed with minor or smaller schemes because they do not necessarily adhere to every letter of every objective. Rather than have a can-do attitude on the part of local authorities in engaging with those developers, it is important that we listen to those who are at the coalface of developments of all sizes, be they small builders or large developers, in order to ensure that we get on top of what is possibly one of the most defining social crises of our generation.

I agree with much of what my colleague Deputy Connolly said with regard to the importance of the NDP. In the documents relating to the national planning framework, there are many references to it being aligned with the NDP. I would like to see the NDP being used, in the context of the national planning framework, as the instrument to enable what we need to happen. We are going to have a population of nearly 6.5 million people in five, ten or 15 years, so we need to ensure that the necessary transport infrastructure is put in place. Transport-oriented development needs to be a priority in the context of what we do. In terms of my constituency, the NDP must be seen as an instrument of delivery when it comes to adequate roads infrastructure for places such as Rathcoole, Saggart and Newcastle. Infrastructure projects listed in the South Dublin county development plan, such as that relating to the western Dublin orbital route, need to be advanced. Those projects need to be completed in order to enable the housing delivery which will happen in that part of Dublin over the next five or ten years and which has already happened. It must be remembered that we are playing catch-up in this regard.

There needs to be urgency in respect of projects such as the Luas for Lucan, which is listed in the greater Dublin transport strategy, in order to ensure that further development will happen in Lucan. These projects must be completed to ensure that adequate public transport infrastructure is provided in areas where demand for housing will remain high. It is not as if people will not want to live in these in 40, 50 or 60 years' time. Ultimately, the aim behind the national planning framework should be to build up large cities which are hubs for their economic regions and the populations of which will ultimately be replaced. These places should not just be home to ageing populations; they should remain attractive to families over time. The facilities necessary to underpin this should be provided.

I am particularly keen that the national planning framework would be taken on board by the Department of Education, particularly its school building section. I do not know if colleagues are of the same view, but sometimes I feel there is a frustration in terms of the speed with which the school building section acknowledges and looks at the demographic projections for a particular area or if the school planning areas are aligned with what is set out in the national planning framework or in county or city development plans. It is important for that to happen. This comes back to my point about the importance of a housing first culture in terms of how we implement the national planning framework and how we deal with issues such as childcare. During questions to the Minister for children last night, a number of Deputies discussed the need to ensure that where provision is being made in developments for the provision of childcare facilities, that these facilities are actually delivered. We know there is a patchy record in that regard across the country. This also applies in the context of matters such as Garda stations and Garda numbers.

I encourage the Department and the local authorities to engage with bodies at all levels of delivery, whether they be State agencies such as Uisce Éireann or ESB Networks or small developers, to ensure that the urgency required to deal with this crisis is reflected across the country. I also urge all involved to look abroad at some of the reforms that are being pursued in, for example, New Zealand with regard to easing zoning rules and consider whether these are things that we should look at in order to get the supply of houses up to the 50,000 a year that we will need, not only for the next three or four years but, ideally, for the next ten to 15.

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