Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

230. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if he is satisfied that the recently announced national planning framework will facilitate the granting of planning permission to the indigenous rural population in keeping with good planning practices and recognising the need to ensure rural revival; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9489/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

No decision on the detailed content or approach to be contained within the new National Planning Framework has been taken by me or the Government at this stage. Indeed, I intend that the development of the Framework, one of the most strategically important public policy exercises currently underway by the Government, will be a collaborative exercise, the ultimate success of which will depend on the degree to which all citizens have the opportunity to have their say on how Ireland should develop over the next twenty years or more, and how we can plan for and accommodate the substantial additional population expected by 2040 in a more strategic and sustainable way. It will be up to the general public, various public bodies and any other stakeholders to put forward their views, including in relation to rural development issues, to my Department which is undertaking a number of technical analyses and assessments of all relevant material submitted in developing the Framework. To be successful, the Framework will need to address the strategic territorial planning and regional development issues that our country faces between now and 2040, in relation to rural and urban, as well as terrestrial and marine, elements.

In addition to the draft NPF being subject to public consultation, the Framework will also be submitted to the Oireachtas for its consideration later this year.