Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, to the House in his new role at the Department of housing. It is great that he is overlooking and reviewing the third-largest Bill to come before the Houses. I very much take on board what the Minister of State referred to in his opening statement concerning the engagement with so many groups across the board. I refer to the amendments proposed as well. The officials in the Department have looked at this aspect and taken on board nearly two-thirds of these amendments. It looks like nearly 100 of the 150 amendments proposed were taken account of and made a part of this Bill. The legislation is intended to improve development projects in terms of infrastructure across the regions.

As someone from the Roscommon-Galway area of the west, what is proposed is a plan-led system of planning and development. It looks at the national planning framework and includes the three regional assembly regional spatial and economic strategies. For us, of course, this is the Northern and Western Regional Assembly. This is important. I do not know if the Minister of State will have time to comment, but I refer to the input into those plans and the people in institutions like the Northern and Western Regional Assembly who worked on them. Each of these regional assemblies probably has a slightly different focus.

For us, obviously, we are a more rural area. We have fewer concentrated large-scale urban centres. We have Galway city and some very substantial large towns. In County Roscommon, Athlone was designated a regional growth centre. Ballinasloe is one of the towns listed for growth. These regional growth centres are important, as is the focus under the regional spatial and economic strategies. The fact that these towns, like Athlone, are between the west and the east and that work will be undertaken between bodies like Roscommon County Council and Westmeath County Council is important in terms of the streamlining of those plans and the overarching plan for development.

Also taken into account are regional considerations. We have specific regional considerations in the rural areas that have a low concentration of large-scale city centres. The legislation is also concerned with the county development plans. I appreciate the extension, and this is one of the major changes being proposed here, from six years to ten years and that there will be a review process. We will have an opportunity when we go further into the detail of this Bill to consider the elements of this review process. It is an aspect I will be looking at. From what I understand, the time period in question is every five years.In addition, area plans are mandated.

The impact of all of this will probably require a certain amount of training for many of the groups involved. A great deal has already been happening in this regard over the number of years it has taken to put together the legislation. When the plans are in place and up and running, which we hope will happen in the next while, how does the Minister of State see engagement happening across all the different groups? We have talked about the NPF, the regional assemblies, the county development plans and so on. Does he have any comment on how he sees this working in practice across each of the organisations involved? The process is mandated from the Department but, at a practical level, how do we support those groups to ensure we maximise the benefits coming out of this legislation?

I welcome the points the Minister of State mentioned regarding An Bord Pleanála, which will now be called an coimisiún pleanála, and the taking on of new staff. Having 300 people available to support decisions in a timely way is having a huge impact. I see at local level, in the smaller towns, that development needs to happen. Issues around housing can be really challenging. There is a challenge in getting developers in small towns to consider large-scale housing developments. These provisions will assist in ensuring regional areas of lower population are able to compete and that developers may consider smaller towns for development. The impact I want to see from the legislation in the time to come is that smaller towns benefit from the clarity and confidence that will be given over a ten-year period.