Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I thank Senator Gerald Nash for raising the issue. I wish to address it by taking two approaches, referring first to the local government legislation, and then to the final consultation of the national planning framework, which is at draft stage. I have read the Senator's submission to that consultation, as have many others. It is important to say that up to 3 November, people can make submissions and involve themselves in the process, which the Senator and many others have done.

The Local Government Act 2001, as amended, currently provides for three city councils, in Cork, Dublin and Galway. If an additional city council were to be established in law, it would have significant implications for the county in which the area concerned is situated, in particular as regard the loss of functions of the relevant county council. If the Local Government Act was to be amended to designate Drogheda as a city, this would have wide-ranging legal, financial, organisational and electoral implications, not only for Louth County Council, but also for Meath County Council, as it would be difficult to consider establishing a city authority without incorporating the County Meath environment. I acknowledge that Senator Nash has referenced this.

Drogheda has developed significantly in recent years, with a population of almost 41,000 at the 2016 census. It is by no means clear that fragmentation of local government structures and resources in County Louth would be helpful to the continuation of that success. However, that is a decision under the Act that the Government looked at, and can be looked at again in the future.

I refer now to the national planning framework, NPF, and what we are trying to achieve there. The Government has published Ireland 2040 as a final public consultation draft national planning framework. Taking on board the submissions received, it is intended to finalise the national planning framework later this year, probably in December. The NPF will encourage large towns such as Drogheda, as well as Navan, Sligo, Dundalk, Wicklow and others, to grow more than the national average up to 2040, within the context of regional planning policies, to be expanded on through the regional spatial and economic strategy that is being prepared for each of the three regional assemblies and scheduled for completion by the end of 2018. I am meeting the regional assemblies on Friday to discuss this draft plan and to get their views. The regional strategy will be brought forward in 2018, which again is another place to have this conversation and this debate.

Key factors to be taken into account in framing these growth policies include the location of towns relative to city-region catchments; the scale of employment provision and net commuting flows; the accessibility of economic influence; the extent of local services, administration, education, particularly at third level, health, leisure and retail; the extent of the interdependencies or linkages between towns; and the commitment to, and the realisable prospects for, compact and sustainable growth. What we are trying to achieve here is to ensure regional balance. I agree with the Senator that areas like Drogheda, Navan and Dundalk did not get just positioning in the 2002 spatial strategy and have not been developed in a proper way because of that. What we are trying to achieve with Ireland 2040 is to develop in a sustainable way to make sure that services, as well as the jobs and everything else, match the population of all our towns and villages.

As well as alignment with the ten-year national investment plan being prepared by the Department of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, the national planning framework proposes an urban smart growth fund, new requirements for new urban area plans across administrative boundaries, as well as supporting the sustainable economic potential of the Dublin-Belfast corridor, of which Drogheda is a key urban component. I want to be very clear that we do focus in on those administrative boundary areas, such as the Meath-Drogheda boundary, and it is very complicated. The commission did recommend that we find new ways to be able to deliver services and to make decisions such as planning on those areas around those boundary areas as well. That is what we are trying to realise in the national planning framework, that we would have local authorities working together more closely around that process.

Taking all of the foregoing together, the policies and proposals contained in the draft national planning framework will support the development of Ireland's larger towns such as Drogheda, which has developed strongly in recent years within the existing local government structures and arrangements. The national planning framework is to help Drogheda realise its potential and not to restrict it in any way. I know the Senator has a concern that it is restrictive. It is not. Places such as Drogheda will flourish more under the new national planning framework. Again, it is only at draft stage. Final decisions have not been made and the closing date for submissions is 3 November, so I encourage all interested parties, including Members of this House, to share their views and comments by the closing date. I believe there will be a discussion in both House of the Oireachtas on the national planning framework. It is being discussed at the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government. Last week we had a frank discussion, and colleagues such as Deputy Fergus O'Dowd and others from my own area made the same arguments that Senator Nash is making about Drogheda. Again, this will be teased out over the next couple of months as well.