Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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840.To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government how he envisages that the investment plans developed in the new ten-year county development plans will interact with the national planning of infrastructure under the National Development Plan; and if it will be necessary for the various Government Departments to align their investment approaches to this new process of having a coherent national and local planning framework.[35026/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Within the Irish planning system, the city or county development plan is the principal planning strategy document for each local authority area over the 6 year lifespan of the plan. The development plan gives spatial expression to the physical, economic and social needs of the community by enabling planning authorities to plan for new development, support the provision of necessary infrastructure, protect and enhance valued assets and amenities, while also safeguarding the environment.

Currently, under section 10 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, it is a statutory requirement for each planning authority to include objectives in their development plan for the provision or facilitation of infrastructure, including transport, energy, communication facilities and water services, in addition to other infrastructural needs such as waste recovery and disposal facilities.

Under proposals included in the Planning and Development Bill 2023, development plans will become more strategic in nature, have a longer 10 year lifespan, that will include an integrated overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the area, supported by a number of thematic strategies. These strategies will, among other things, consolidate the statutory development plan objectives set down in the 2000 Act. As such, the facilitation of infrastructure provision that supports and gives effect to national, regional and county/city policy objectives will remain an important feature of the development plan, but with an enhanced plan-led approach and a longer timeframe to provide greater certainty and clarity.

In terms of the interaction between development plans and the identification of infrastructure investment priorities at national level, the Planning and Development Bill 2023, in a similar manner as the 2000 Act, provides that the National Planning Framework (NPF) will identify nationally strategic development requirements as respects cities, towns and rural areas in relation to employment, future population change, housing, and associated public infrastructure.

This includes an indication in the NPF of national infrastructure priorities linked to these strategic development requirements, and in particular in relation to transportation, water services, waste management, energy and communications networks, as well as the provision of educational, healthcare, retail, cultural and recreational facilities. This approach provides high level strategic direction to planning authorities in the preparation of their development plans.

The Bill also retains the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES), as prepared by each of the three regional assemblies, as a key planning policy instrument to provide a long-term strategic planning and economic framework for the development of each region, thereby supporting the implementation of the NPF and the economic policies and objectives of the Government. Each RSES will identify infrastructure needs at regional level, thereby providing further strategic guidance to planning authorities at local level as respects to the objectives of their development plan.

The NPF gives spatial expression to Government policy across a range of sectors and policy areas. The three regional strategies and 31 local development plans must be consistent with the NPF and are informed by comprehensive engagement with relevant infrastructure providers and sponsoring authorities, state agencies, thereby ensuring an integrated and coherent policy approach at national, regional and local level.

The Planning and Development Bill 2023, when enacted, will build on the existing structures of the planning system and provide an enhanced planning policy framework to ensure that infrastructure investment is planned in a strategic manner that supports the national policy objectives of the NPF, enables balanced regional development, while also meeting the needs of local communities, and facilitating sustainable growth.