Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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209. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government his plans to support the provision of local community and social, infrastructure and services in Dublin 5 and Dublin 13 including the newer North Fringe region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16833/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The promotion of higher densities of physical development along transport corridors and other strategic urban locations promoted through high level planning policy frameworks must be accompanied by investment in enabling physical and social infrastructure.

This broad approach is enshrined in the 10 principles of national policy set out in the National Planning Policy Statement 2015, Principle 2 of which states that:

“Planning must proactively drive and support sustainable development, integrating consideration of its economic, social and environmental aspects at the earliest stage to deliver the homes, business and employment space, infrastructure and thriving urban and rural locations in an economically viable manner that will sustain recovery and our future prosperity.

Furthermore Principle 2 states that:

“Planning is about creating communities and further developing existing communities in a sustainable manner by securing high quality urban design through the design, delivery and co-ordination of new development providing a good quality of life for all existing and future users of land and buildings.

More broadly, the national level policy approach in relation to residential densities in urban areas is set out in my Department’s Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Sustainable Residential Development in Urban Areas, published in May 2009 under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, which are available at the following link: .

The objective of these Guidelines is to ensure local authorities bring about high quality and sustainable urban development using their development planning and management functions to deliver:

- quality homes and neighbourhoods;

- places where people want to live, work and raise families; and

- places that work in relation to the provision of infrastructure.

The Guidelines set out the policy context for achieving sustainable development by balancing the need to ensure the highest standards of residential design, which encompasses building lay-out, design and heights, and the need to ensure efficient use of scarce land and infrastructural resources and the avoidance of urban sprawl.The Guidelines place a heavy emphasis on the importance of provision of public infrastructure, such as public transport, community and sports facilities, as densities increase towards more central urban locations, and on the key role of the development plan process in securing effective sustainable urban development outcomes.

The National Planning Framework will further develop the policy in this area, for example in relation to identifying potential to build up the population and economic vitality of town centre and inner urban areas that in many cases have witnessed a sustained movement of people outwards to suburban and wider settings. The output of the consultation phase, together with consideration of the full Census 2016 results in April, will feed into a draft National Planning Framework document, to be published during summer 2017. 

My Department has also issued guidelines on ‘Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities’ which are available at the following link: http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Housing/FileDownLoad%2C1979%2Cen.pdf.  These guidelines aim to assist in achieving the objectives set out in the Government’s statement on housing policy ‘Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities’ (see ). The guidelines point out that successful design of good quality sustainable housing projects must take account of the availability of key services and amenities, such as shops, schools, churches, parks and playing fields, community meeting places, recreation and leisure facilities. 

The Local Government Reform Act 2014 gives legislative effect to the commitments in ‘Putting People First’, including the establishment of Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each local authority administrative area. A key function of each LCDC is to prepare the community elements of a 6-year Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) and to work with partners in the implementation of the plan. LECPs are developed as part of an integrated local, regional and national planning process. This ensures that each Plan will be consistent with County Development Plans, Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, and Regional Action Plans for Jobs. The purpose of the Plan is to promote the local and community development of the relevant local authority area through a more coordinated and collaborative approach to planning and service delivery. 

My Department provides funding to support social inclusion and for social cohesion in communities. The Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP) is the largest social inclusion intervention of its kind in the State. The Programme was rolled out in April 2015, and will run until 31 December 2017. Its aim is to tackle poverty, social exclusion and long-term unemployment through local engagement and partnership between disadvantaged individuals, community organisations, public sector agencies and other stakeholders. SICAP is a key intervention for the harder to reach, with delivery in each area (or Lot) overseen and managed by the relevant LCDC in the local authority area.

The SICAP funding allocation for 2017 nationally is €37.5m, which includes an allocation of €3m under the European Social Fund (ESF) Programme for Employability, Inclusion and Learning (PEIL) 2014-2020. Northside Partnership delivers SICAP in Dublin 3, 5, 13, and 17 (Dublin Northside, Lot 2.3, which encompasses areas such as Fairview, Priorswood, Darndale, Donaghmede, Artane, Killester and Dollymount) on behalf of Dublin City LCDC (with a funding allocation for this area of some €1.1m this year).

In 2017, SICAP will assist approximately 1,375 individuals with education and employment support. Approximately 62 community organisations in the Lot area will be supported through SICAP in 2017 in subjects such as capacity building and organisational development, support to leaver funding, governance training and assistance to participate in local and regional decision making structures. The following organisations are supported through SICAP in the Dublin 5 and Dublin 13 areas; 

- Artane / Coolock Resource Centre,

- Artane Beaumont Rec. centre,

- Belmayne Youth and Community Group,

- Donaghnede Mens Shed, and

- Clongriffin Residents Association.

Furthermore, my Department recently launched the national €2 million Communities Facilities Scheme which is under the remit of my colleague, Catherine Byrne T.D. Minister of State for Communities and the National Drugs Strategy. The Communities Facilities Scheme is targeted at both urban and rural areas. The scheme will fund projects that seek to enhance communities, address disadvantage and improve social cohesion at a local level. The Scheme is being managed at a local level by the LCDCs in conjunction with the Municipal Districts, under the remit of the local authorities.

The Programme for a Partnership Government included a commitment to launch a recast RAPID programme and my Department is currently finalising the necessary arrangements, with the intention of launching it shortly.