Dáil debates
Tuesday, 29 November 2022
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Sports Facilities
11:05 pm
David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for being here to respond to this topic, which is something I feel strongly about. A Leas-Cheann Comhairle, with all due respect to the Minister of State, I did not receive notice that the housing Minister would not be here but that is something you might come back to me on, please, at some stage.
The issue I raise has to do with clubs, organisations and communities trying to find land for football, hurling, camogie, running or whatever activity it is. Across the country there is a problem with that. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, and the Government on what is happening with sports capital funding. The amount of money made available in the last tranche is fantastic and I hope that continues into the next tranche. We have the economy going well to make that happen. The Minister of State said to me recently in the House:
There is an issue in certain parts of the country concerning land. Through the development plan process, it is incumbent on local authorities to ensure land is allocated for recreational use. Many local authorities are doing that.
He said the role of his Department is "to facilitate grassroots and local authority applications to fund specific projects. As a Department, [they] are not presently in the space of purchasing land or owning a significant land bank...". We have a situation where it falls back to volunteers to find and purchase the land, make sure it is zoned properly and that planning is on it. That is an awful lot of stress and pressure on volunteers.
I am sure the Minister of State and Leas-Cheann Comhairle will agree that sport, recreation and such activities are vital for young people, and maybe people who are not so young as well. Young people's involvement in sport develops physical and mental fitness and builds community. They learn how to win and lose and we have many policies around sport. The one thing we do not have at national level is a clear direction to local authorities to zone land and make it available.
We also have the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA. I put down a question to the Minister for Finance about NAMA and he said the agency can facilitate the sale of properties for social purposes where it is commercially practical to do so. We are back again to local volunteers having to raise money to purchase land, and land is in short supply. I had the idea that we could mandate NAMA to make land available in communities where it is properly located.
Deputy Sherlock will be aware of Kilworth and what has been done up there. They have football, hurling, soccer and the whole lot together in one area at the edge of a village. Everyone can walk there and get involved. In my town of Midleton, we are trying to find land for a running track but without success. They are now talking about building 2,500 units on the edge of the town and no recreational facilities are available for that kind of activity. The GAA in our town had to raise a lot of money to build its own facilities. We have hundreds of young people who want to take part but they cannot do so. It is the same with swimming facilities, as I highlighted in the House recently.
We need a strong, coherent policy from central government. For mental and physical health, this would be a win-win situation. It builds communities and helps everybody in the long term. I was Minister of State in the Department of Justice for a while and dealt with youth justice. I can say strongly that nothing works better than having facilities for sport and activities for young people to keep them away from trouble, bother and all the ills and attractions out there. I implore the Minister of State to go back to her colleagues and develop a national policy whereby we direct the local authorities to make sure land is available for these kind of activities.
Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question on the need to make land available to sporting clubs and organisations for the development of sporting and community facilities in villages, towns and cities. I am answering on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage continues to support the enhancement of amenities in cities, towns and villages and there have been important policy developments in recent years, as well as considerable funding secured for such enhancements. There are also important planning principles that inform the provision of such spaces. Section 67 of the Local Government Act 2001, as amended, provides that "a local authority may take such measures, engage in such activities or do such things (including the incurring of expenditure) as it considers necessary or desirable to promote the interests of the local community", including in relation to sports, games and other such activities. Schedule 13 of that Act identifies that such measures taken, activities engaged in or things done by local authorities shall include "the provision (both indoor and outdoor) of playing fields, athletic tracks, swimming pools and other bathing places, sports centres, gymnasia and other facilities and the holding of sporting events". The reservation of lands for recreational and amenity purposes is a matter to be addressed as part of the review of a city or county development plan.
The Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, requires that a development plan include objectives for the zoning of land for use solely or primarily for particular purposes, including for recreational and open space purposes, to such an extent as the proper planning and sustainable development of the area requires. The requirement to make land available for public use is also addressed within guidelines, as follows.
The development plan guidelines for planning authorities highlight the role of the city or county development plan in the provision of public open space. It is recommended that the development plan incorporate a public open space strategy that addresses open space provision as part of a wider assessment of community facilities and amenities. It is envisaged that the development would take a strategic view, including identifying any need for local, town or regional parks, with local area plans and other strategies providing greater detail. The guidelines recommend that when making zoning decisions, consideration must be given to the open space required to serve the community, and that lands should be zoned accordingly. The guidelines also note that the development plan can support a structured approach to open space provision within new developments by including requirements and standards to be applied through the planning process, noting the distinction between open space that is required to serve an individual development and that required to serve the community more broadly.
The local area plan guidelines of 2013 state that there should be an emphasis on providing conveniently located neighbourhood facilities commensurate with the projected population for a local area, including play areas. Public open spaces should be easily reached and take biodiversity issues into account in their design.
The sustainable residential development in urban areas guidelines of 2009 state, in section 4.16, that the provision of public open spaces at district and local level will be guided by city or county wide policies. In new development areas, local area plans should identify the preferred location of larger open spaces, including locations in adjoining non-development areas that may accommodate playing pitches and larger recreational facilities. A more flexible approach is envisaged in housing schemes, with spaces suitable for smaller children's play, informal kick-about and passive amenity. Further detail in this regard is provided within the urban design manual, which supplements the guidelines.
Sustainable Urban Housing: Design Standards for New Apartments 2020, in section 4.13, states that the recreational needs of children must be considered as part of communal amenity space within the apartment scheme. The apartment guidelines also provide further details with regard to the forms and location of such facilities.
The guidelines I have cited are issued under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. Planning authorities must have regard to the guidelines when carrying out their strategic planning or development management functions. This means that planning authorities are required to demonstrate how the policies and objectives of the guidelines have been applied.
It should be noted that the Department is working towards developing detailed guidelines in relation to sustainable settlements, which will incorporate elements of the 2009 guidelines. It is intended that the proposed sustainable and compact settlement guidelines will be issued under section 28 of the Act and will seek to address key issues in relation to the design of open space, which provides a range of active and passive spaces to support the development of amenable neighbourhoods that promote high quality of life for residents.
David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive and well put-together response. I will pick one or two things out of it. Her written response states that a "local authority may take such measures" and, subsequently, that the "local authority shall include" provision of both indoor and outdoor playing pitches and so on. When this does not happen, who pulls the local authority up on it and says it should do it? Is it is the Planning Regulator or the Minister? Is there any recourse when it does not happen?
I draw the Minister of State's attention to today’sIrish Examiner. The editorial refers to the National Building Agency, a semi-State body set up to build a lot of houses quickly. It did that but ended up with developments in certain areas that did not have services such as shops, playgrounds or sports facilities, which can bind communities and help them develop. Many of these areas had social problems afterwards because there was nowhere for the children to play.
I am all for having open spaces, parks and green areas, but we also need sporting and community facilities where organised events such as running, swimming, various field games, indoor games and so on can take place. Some areas in the country have no community hall, for instance. The Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is doing some work on that at the moment. It falls back on the local community and local volunteers to provide these.
Community work is quite advanced in Mayo. I call on the Government to discuss this with all local authorities to ensure that in places where there are no community facilities, land is zoned to make it happen. It can also happen through NAMA. Otherwise, we are stirring up trouble for the future leaving young people with nothing to do and all day to do it. When I was Minister of State, I visited some communities that were in chaos because they did not have any facilities. The volunteers and local people were crying out for them. I am doing that again this evening. I hope the Minister of State and the Government will listen.
11:15 pm
Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I will raise those specific comments with the Minister. It is clear to me and to Government that having amenities and supporting community and social infrastructure are critical to planning for sustainable communities. The provision of sufficient sporting, play and cultural spaces in our towns and cities for the residents of a neighbourhood provides significant social dividend in terms of community engagement and public health. This is recognised in Government policy, such as Town Centre First, and the national planning framework and in the publication in June of Development Plans - Guidelines for Planning Authorities.
It is the Minister's intention that the sustainable and compact settlement guidelines currently being developed will support the provision of these amenities by setting out core principles of design and place-making to be applied to create places of high quality at the level of district or neighbourhood, housing schemes and individual well-being.