National plan: where planning meets politics

The Government has attempted to steer future economic development by folding details of its 10-year National Development Plan into a 20-year National Planning Framework. The two documents are uncomfortable bedfellows at times, because of disparate Cabinet decisions rooted in political considerations, but the broad approach and capital expenditure commitments represent positive developments. The framework document set out in dispassionate terms what was needed to accommodate a rapidly growing population while, at the same time, moderating the growth of Dublin in favour of regional cities and more balanced development. It generated a fierce reaction from elected representatives in those areas that would not gain immediately. Changes were made. Ministerial demands and plans for rural development were accommodated.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Ten key areas set for development over next 20 years

The Government has launched an ambitious plan which details how more than €116 billion will be spent on infrastructure projects over the next 22 years.

Here are some of the key points of the National Development Plan and National Planning Framework:

§  Athlone and Sligo identified as regional centres where economic development should be focused.

§  Letterkenny, Drogheda, and Dundalk to be prioritised as towns that will benefit from cross-border regional development.

§  Ambitious growth targets of 50% set for the cities of Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford.

§  Development in Dublin will be focused within and close to the city.

§  500,000 new homes required up to 2040.

§  New technological university for the southeast.

§  Second runway for Dublin Airport at a cost of €320 million.

§  Regional airports such as Knock and Donegal to get increased investment.

§  Metro-link connecting Swords and Sandyford via Dublin Airport to be delivered by 2027 at cost of €3bn.

§  DART to be extended to run to Drogheda and Maynooth.

Read the full article @ www.rte.ie

Ibec welcomes Project Ireland 2040

Ibec statement on Project Ireland 2040

Ibec, the group which represents Irish business, has today welcomed the announcement of Project Ireland 2040, comprising of the National Development Plan and the National Planning Framework.

Ibec CEO, Danny McCoy, said: “The launch of Project Ireland 2040 heralds a new and exciting era for the Irish economy and society. Planning for the future is everyone’s business. We have now clearly moved beyond the economic recovery phase and can look to the next stage of development with real ambition.

“For some time now, Ibec has identified a lack of investment in the economy as a major constraint to progress. The €116bn 10 year investment plan, which will see capital spending exceed 4% of economic output, is visionary and comprehensive. Together with the National Planning Framework it will allow us to plan for a bigger population and for better distribution of economic activity across the regions.

“Our economy relies heavily on the performance of our cities and urban areas. Better functioning, sustainable, and more vibrant towns and cities will drive prosperity right across the country. It is extremely positive to see the clear identification of prioritised urban growth centres across each of the regions.

“Project Ireland 2040 will bring people and places closer together. The investment in major public transport projects, coupled with ambitious new road projects to better connect our regional cities and towns will help address our growing congestion challenges and improve our quality of life.. It is a major commitment to delivering a compact, connected and networked island of Ireland and can help offset some of the challenges of Brexit. It is now essential that all sections of society embrace the opportunity of the plan to ensure that its implementation is as successful as possible.”

Visit Ibec @ http://www.ibec.ie

Construction industry front and centre in National Development Plan

Friday’s announcement of the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan is a potential game-changer for the Irish economy and society. The ambition of both documents is to be lauded. Ireland has, for a decade, neglected infrastructure investment and this investment will see us move from the bottom of the table in the EU.

The strategic approach of embedding the public capital programme within a legislatively backed National Planning Framework up to 2040 may insulate investment from the vagaries of Ireland’s political system. The NPF’s ambition coupled with the significant increase in financial commitment in the capital programme can be a powerful springboard for Ireland’s economy.

Tomorrow, when the dust settles, the work begins.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Engineers Ireland - “Realisation of Project Ireland 2040 will require consensus and institutional reform”

Statement from Engineers Ireland on the National Planning Framework:

§  €116 billion National Development Plan 2018-2027 provides a 10-year pipeline of projects and should “provide confidence for the engineering sector”

§  Single infrastructure authority should be established to ensure the efficient delivery and implementation of strategic infrastructure

§  20-year planning approach “central to enabling prosperity, wellbeing and long-term growth”

§  Country must plan for the concentration of population and jobs growth in city-regions

§  Now, more than ever, “we need to inspire more young people to study engineering”

Engineers Ireland has welcomed the publication by Government of the National Planning Framework (NPF), calling it “a critically important framework for the sustainable development of our country over the next generation.” The organisation also strongly welcomed the joint publication of the €116 billion 10-year National Development Plan (NDP), saying “the alignment of spatial planning and investment is a vital step towards sustainable growth and effective investment.”

Commenting on the announcements, Caroline Spillane, Director General, Engineers Ireland, said: “Spatial planning and infrastructure delivery are important determinants of how we live, work and grow old. Yet planning in Ireland has frequently been inadequate for the country’s needs and based on a short-term and local view. Engineers Ireland has long advocated for planning that is evidence-based, long-term and divorced from the electoral cycle. We therefore welcome the 20-year approach taken in Project Ireland 2040 which will be central to enabling prosperity, wellbeing and long-term growth.”

In relation to the implementation of the NPF and NDP, Ms Spillane welcomed the attention given to institutional reform. “A new National Regeneration and Development Agency will be the centre of expertise in strategic land development, an Infrastructure Projects Steering Group will develop cross-sectoral dialogue on infrastructure, and the Construction Sector Working Group will ensure dialogue between Government and the construction sector.”

However, she said that the Government must go one step further: “Engineers Ireland believes the Government must establish a single infrastructure authority to oversee the implementation of the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan projects across Government departments and State agencies.

“This new authority should bring together the myriad of institutions and policy instruments which are currently involved in infrastructure and the new authority should be placed on a statutory footing. This approach would ensure the integrated and streamlined delivery of priority infrastructure projects. The authority would seek to build cross-party and cross-sectoral consensus, as well as public and media understanding and support.”

President of Engineers Ireland, Dr Kieran Feighan said the organisation strongly supports planning for the concentration of growth in city-regions and other urban areas: “In line with international trends, we must prepare for the majority of population and jobs growth to be focused in urban centres. This will mean putting in place strategic systems of infrastructure to support growth, such as public transport networks, water services and flood defences. The NPF is a critically important framework for the sustainable development of our country over the next generation.”

Dr Kieran Feighan continued: “We must also rebalance national development to ensure more widespread access to the economic recovery and to relieve the mounting pressure on Dublin. We welcome the steps taken towards developing critical mass along the Atlantic Economic Corridor (Waterford, Cork, Limerick/Shannon, Galway, Sligo and Letterkenny/Derry), which can act as a counterbalance to Dublin in terms of attracting population, employment and investment. We are pleased the NDP will channel investment into improving the attractiveness and connectivity of this corridor. At the same time, it is important to recognise the capital city as the national economic driver and it must continue to develop, prosper and compete as an internationally significant city.”

The organisation also welcomed the 10-year pipeline of projects contained in the €116 billion National Development Plan. They said that many of these projects have been identified by expert engineers as vital pieces of infrastructure in Engineers Ireland’s annual State of Ireland reports, including:

§  National Broadband Plan

§  Flood risk management

§  Metro Link, DART expansion and BusConnects

§  M20 Cork to Limerick

§  Airports and ports

§  Renewables and grid interconnection

§  Retrofitting for energy efficiency

§  Water and wastewater treatment and networks

§  The full pipeline of projects, they said, should inspire confidence in the engineering sector in the years ahead.

Dr Kieran Feighan added: “Every objective contained in these plans will require the engineering community to play a significant role. Engineers will be crucial in delivering compact and smart growth, enhanced regional accessibility, high-quality international connectivity, a strong digital economy, transition to a low carbon and resilient society and the sustainable management of water and other resources. Now, more than ever, we need to inspire more young people to study engineering.”

In an effort to demystify the subject of engineering, Engineers Ireland's STEPS programme - funded under Science Foundation Ireland’s Discover Programme Call - encourages primary and post-primary students to explore the world of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), while promoting engineering as a study and career choice. Engineers Week, Engineers Ireland’s annual festival of engineering, takes place nationwide from 24 February to 2 March 2018.

Read the full article @ www.engineersireland.ie

Significant growth for small towns and villages envisaged in NDP

Ireland’s new long-term planning blueprint envisages significant growth for Ireland’s smaller town and villages over the next 20 years, allied to a realistic and sustainable approach to once-off homes in the countryside. There are 154 towns with fewer than 10,000 people; 40 of these had a population of more than 5,000, but only 12 had more than 2,500 jobs. Meanwhile, there are just 41 towns with more than 10,000 people. In all, 37 per cent of the country’s population live in towns of less than 1,500 or in the open countryside. The National Planning Framework recommends that the philosophy of “compact growth” should apply to smaller towns and villages as well as larger towns and cities.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

Coveney: Cork set to become fastest-growing region in State

Cork is set to become the fastest growing city in Ireland over the next 20 years with the population of the city set to almost treble under a combination of Project Ireland 2040 and the extension of the city boundary, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said.

Mr Coveney told a Cork Chamber breakfast briefing on the future of Cork under Project Ireland 2040 and the National Development Plan that the population of Cork is expected to grow from its current level of about 120,000 people to between 320,000 and 360,000 by 2040.

Read the full article @ The Irish Times

The RIAI's Statement on the National Framework Plan

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) welcomes the introduction of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and highlights that an investment in quality architecture and urban design in realising these plans will have a positive impact on the economy as well as the health and wellbeing of Ireland’s citizens. The level of social inclusion and the attractiveness of the country for FDI through the creation of a quality built environment is vital to the success of the NPF.

In planning for the future, we must be both ambitious and realistic to ensure that public projects deliver guaranteed sustainable and long term value.  We need cost effective delivery methods which focus on certainty and quality of outcome.  Ireland cannot afford to take actions that result in any poor quality development decisions.  It is imperative that procurement, planning and regulatory systems are focused on championing quality in the built environment that positions Ireland as a leader in international best practice in sustainable, quality, value driven development.

The RIAI believes that the National Development Regeneration Authority, Regional Authorities and Local Authorities should therefore be resourced and charged with ensuring a controlled and phased flow of investment through the life of the NPF to deliver infrastructure to support thriving towns, cities and villages and vibrant urban living for the expanding population.

Source: www.riai.ie

The €116 billion Project Ireland 2040: Where is the money coming from?

THE GOVERNMENT TODAY announced plans to spend €116 billion on a host of items from roads to schools to hospitals. While the spending is huge, many are questioning just where the money will come from and whether the funding is ringfenced. The plan commits €115.9 billion in total of capital spending between 2018 and 2027 and the plan says it will mostly come from Exchequer funding – that is money raised through general taxation. €91 billion will come directly from the Exchequer, while €24.9 billion will come from the dividends of state-owned commercial companies.

Read the full article @ www.thejournal.ie

Ireland 2040: Grand designs but which of these projects can we expect to see first?

THE DEVIL IS in the detail – and there is much detail yet to be revealed in Project Ireland 2040.
A sweeping overview of the strategic planning that might get us to an Ireland in which would want to live in by 2040 was launched yesterday by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and his Cabinet in Sligo. The ministerial cavalcade no doubt had a pleasant drive on the M4/N4 to Sligo IT but, to paraphrase previous incumbents of the seat of power, there might be much done, but a lot more to do. The ‘more’ was contained in the document released at 2pm yesterday, outlining where €116 billion should be invested over the next 10 years in order to futureproof Ireland against a host of factors, including the impact of Brexit and a population growth of 1 million people.

Read the full article @ www.thejournal.ie

Irish Planning Institute's Press Release on the National Framework Plan

Project 2040 choices send mixed messages about evidence-based planning

-        Effective evidence-based planning only possible if supported by legislation and regulation

-        Commitment to brownfield development welcome but resource plan is misaligned

“While Government’s decision to put a National Planning Framework (NPF) in place side by side with investment in key infrastructure is a positive and mature step for our nation as it enters its second century of independence, today’s announcement raises more questions than gives answers about our ability to learn from our past”

Mr. Joe Corr, President of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), the professional body representing planners in Ireland, was speaking as the IPI responded to publication today (Friday, 16 February, 2018) of ‘Ireland 2040’.  “Good planning is evidence based” he said. “The framework proposed today sets out four cities and five towns outside Dublin as growth centres. That is one more than the eight gateway cities in the Spatial Strategy of 2002. The evidence of the past 15 years is that this didn’t work.”

“We recognise fully the imperative, and indeed responsibility, of public representatives to address citizens’ concerns. From a professional planning perspective however, ‘Ireland 2040’  is not following the evidence as we hoped it would in order to become a robust enabling tool to shape and enable future investment in the growth of our society and its economy by both public and private sectors. It presents as a framework for politics following politics rather development following planning.”

Implementation

Mr Corr called for a priority in the commitment to an independent Office for Planning Regulation with legislative backing. “A national framework is only one part of a series of connected measures to guide planning with Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSESs) and local area development plans to follow.  The biggest danger here is that the grip on evidence as a basis for planning loosens even further as those further measures are rolled out.  Legislation to control delivery is essential and requires the political and related stakeholder support to develop and implement sustainable solutions”

Developing on brown rather than green fields

Looking at the detail of the Framework, Mr Corr said that the IPI welcomes the NPF emphasis on reusing previously developed ‘brownfield’ land in both an urban and a rural context “Establishing some priority for brownfield over greenfield use is a positive way to addresses challenges to both economic and environmental sustainability. It serves to reduce sprawl, to increase the efficiency of land use and enables a more focused and efficient investment in infrastructure”

However, he said, the IPI questioned the balance in the proposed funding support given the requirement to five metropolitan plans where land values are significantly greater than in rural areas. “Where is the evidence to back up these figures?  We would also like to see assurances that funds for rural area development go to regeneration of essential physical and social infrastructure in villages and small towns and not on rural roads which encourages further one-off housing, for example”.

Climate change

The specific direction of the NPF is of course also critical as a means of enabling Ireland respond effectively to the challenges of climate change.  It provides a frame for guiding balanced growth and for informed and cohesive decision making in the future.

Mr Corr said that the IPI and its members look forward now to having an active role at regional and local level in bring the NPF to life. “We welcome and endorse the leadership which the NPF provides. As a framework it leaves ample scope for addressing local needs in an active and informed way.  We believe as a community, in both the private and the public sectors that we have a lot of insight available to support implementation and will be advocating strongly for a continued commitment to this thinking from all stakeholders towards 2040”

Read more from the Irish Planning Institute @ www.ipi.ie

Project Ireland 2040: National Development Plan explained as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar launches €116 billion spending splurge on infrastructure

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has launched a capital spending slurge for the next decade that will cost the taxpayer €116billion, at a glitzy PR launch. The list of infrastructure goodies unveiled include billion euro projects across the sectors, such as health, transport and education, while the largesse is spread across the country, from Dublin to Cork, Galway, Sligo, Donegal and almost everywhere in between. However, there was still some criticism that rural Ireland was not getting a fair crack of the whip compared to the greater Dublin area, but Minister for Rural Affairs, Michael Ring, defended the Government, saying that “rural Ireland will thrive” under the new plan. The plan, part of Project Ireland 2040, predicts that there will be one million more people living in Ireland in 20 years time and that development and upgrade of infrastructure is necessary to make Ireland still a great place to live.

Read the full article @ www.irishmirror.ie

Athlone has been designated as the 'capital' of the Midlands under the National Planning Framework

A press release stated: "The Plan aims to balance development across the country with Athlone to receive the designation as the growth centre for the midlands in the new Government plan for the next 20 years, Ireland 2040". David Gleeson, Managing Partner at RBK Chartered Accountants welcomed the news, saying: “We will really have to ask ourselves what type of country we want to live in. "Is it a country with all the population virtually on the Eastern coast or a more balanced distribution of the population which will have work/life balances benefits and lower costs?” "At present people are travelling for up to three to four hours per day in their cars to their work place in Dublin leaving their homes at 5am in the morning and not returning 7pm or 8pm in the evening. "This is simply not good for the quality of theirs and their families’ lives.” The plan aims to cater for a growing population, with our population set to increase by one million in 20 years' time. 

Read the full article @ www.irishmirror.ie