Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 34:

In page 46, to delete lines 26 to 29, and substitute the following:“(8) The government shall submit the final draft of the National Planning Framework together with the Environmental Report and Appropriate Assessment Report for the amendment and approval by each House of the Oireachtas, and only after that approval can the National Planning Framework be considered to be on a statutory footing.”.

This amendment would cause the Government to ensure that there is a vote on the national planning framework in the Dáil and Seanad before it is placed on a statutory footing. Sinn Féin has engaged with the national planning framework consultation process from the start and made two detailed submissions articulating our concerns about the draft plan. There were huge gaps in the last document in regard to the north west of the country and there is also much vagueness in regard to the North-South dimension of the plan. There must be a stronger all-Ireland dimension or focus, in particular in the context of Brexit and its impact. There is no emphasis on socio-economic disadvantage within the document and the drafters must be mindful of the potential socio-economic impact of planning decisions.Sinn Féin has stated on the record that unless there is a significant change to the plan we will not be in a position to support it. It is unclear what the procedure is for putting the national planning framework on a statutory footing. This has not been done before and, as such, we believe that the Dáil and Seanad should debate and vote on this important document before it is given a legislative footing.