Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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39. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government his plans for the national planning framework; the way in which towns and regions will be selected for development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47233/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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The National Planning Framework, Ireland 2040 – Our Plan, is intended to set a new long-term strategic planning and investment context for Ireland over the next 20 years.  It will outline a high-level, national vision for Ireland for 2040, and will provide the framework and principles to manage future population and economic growth over the next 20 years (catering for 1 million extra people, 600,000 extra jobs and 500,000 extra homes).

As a national level document, the National Planning Framework (NPF) will set out broad policies and proposals in relation to Ireland's major urban centres, the regions and rural areas that are essential to manage our country's strategic development over the next twenty years rather than selecting individual towns for development.  Moreover, the broad policies and proposals set out under the NPF will be further articulated at regional and local levels by the forthcoming Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs), the preparation of which has begun in each of the 3 regions (for completion by end-2018) and, ultimately, in City and County Development Plans. The Regional Assemblies were established under the Local Government Act 2014 to co-ordinate the plans, including statutory development plans, and programmes of local authorities in the light of national policy and accordingly the new RSES's will be the vehicles through which policies and opportunities in relation to specific places will be elaborated in more detail.