Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when he will publish the draft national planning framework; if interested stakeholders will get a further opportunity to make submissions, observations and so on; when the NPF will be put on a statutory basis; and if a budget will be allocated to deliver same. [33436/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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An initial draft of the National Planning Framework (NPF), Ireland 2040 – Our Plan, is at an advanced stage of preparation. The intention is that the draft Plan, accompanied by an Environmental Report as required under the Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, will be published for consultation, allowing for input from stakeholders and the general public.

Moreover, the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 provides for the implementation of a number of planning related recommendations of the Mahon Tribunal, one of which establishes a legislatively defined approach to the development of the National Planning Framework. Specific provision is included in the Bill for obtaining Oireachtas approval of the NPF or any revised framework. This Bill is currently at Dáil Report Stage and I would hope to see the Bill progressing to enactment as soon as possible after the Summer recess.

The NPF covers a broad range of issues in relation to planning for Ireland’s future over the period to 2040. While public expenditure allocations are a matter for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, my Department and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform are working closely together to ensure an effective alignment between the National Planning Framework and the mid-term review of the Capital Plan and longer-term infrastructure planning, with a view to ensuring that long-term planning objectives shape Ireland's investment and infrastructural development approach into the future.