Maria McCormack (Sinn Fein)

Statutory planning frameworks are an important part of the planning system. If we get them right, they provide a clear framework for the social, economic, cultural and environmental development of the State and the entire island. However, if the plan is not right, it will be an impediment to development.

While I welcome that we will have a debate and a vote on the revised draft planning framework, the process leaves a lot to be desired. This statutory plan is of such significance that there should have been an opportunity for committee scrutiny, with presentations from external organisations and opportunities for Senators and TDs to propose amendments. The consultation process was far too short. Reasonable requests for extensions of the submission deadline were denied and now the Government has come back with a fait accompli. It is a real shame and means that many of us in opposition will have no option but to vote against the plan in its current form. The Government could have made this an opportunity to reach out to the Opposition and to reach a consensus.

While the document has some merit, on balance the weaknesses and omissions mean that it does not command Sinn Féin's full support. The plan has a number of fundamental flaws, in particular how it deals with predicted population growth, regional balance and development, tackling spatial disadvantage and the calculation of housing need. Predicted population growth is difficult. However, the way it is done in the national planning framework makes it more prone to error. A census is conducted. Two years later, the ESRI is commissioned to undertake a report. A year after that, the national planning framework review is approved. By that time, the census data are out of date and in turn the entire underlying assessment of the statutory plan is fatally undermined. This has an impact on all aspects of the plan.

Sinn Féin's view is that the national planning framework needs to be subject to a more timely review immediately after the census to ensure it is based on the most up-to-date information. The reliance on outdated data especially affects the national planning framework's assessment of housing need. The 2018 national planning framework was based on the 2016 census. By the time that plan was agreed in 2019, the data were already three years old. That means that the previous housing need assessment of an average of 25,000 new homes was hopelessly inadequate. The current draft, which estimates housing need at an average of 50,000 new homes a year, is simply flawed. It is based on 2022 census data and an ESRI report that did not examine unmet housing need with the existing population growth. This was not the fault of the ESRI but of the Government that set the terms of reference for the ESRI report.Significantly, the revised national planning framework document ignored the Housing Commission's calculation of the housing deficit. When this is taken into account alongside the ESRI's estimate of emerging demand, we would actually need at last 60,000 new homes per year. With each year it is not met, the deficit grows, as does the need. If the plan underestimates housing need, this will impact on zoning, critical infrastructure, transport, public service planning and, crucially, public and private sector investment in residential development. This is one of the most serious flaws in the plan and must be urgently reviewed.

Sinn Féin is concerned about the proposal of 50-50 distribution of the future growth population between Dublin and the east on one hand, and the rest of the State on the other hand. It is just not balanced. There is a view that this will continue an over concentration of development in the greater Dublin area to the detriment of the south-east, south-west, Border and north-west regions. Far greater attention needs to be paid to the views of the regional assemblies and elected representatives from these areas to ensure the population distribution is regionally balanced and that investment in infrastructure, economic development, public services and houses is targeted to achieve this balance.

Sinn Féin is also concerned that the plan, like its predecessor, is blind to the spatial distribution of social and economic disadvantage. It is vital that investment, particularly public investment, whether in employment, services, amenities or housing, is targeted at those areas that need it most. If you are not mapping the geographical distribution of social and economic disadvantage and in turn aligning with public investment and that need, you run the risk of reinforcing that disadvantage. There are many other areas that Sinn Féin is concerned about, but my colleagues will address these. Unfortunately, the plan in front of us does not meet the needs and on that basis Sinn Féin will not be supporting it.