Rose Conway-Walsh: National Planning Framework skewed towards Dublin
Rose Conway-Walsh criticised the National Planning Framework, saying it is skewed towards the Dublin and Eastern and Midland region and fails to address regional inequality, infrastructure and housing shortfalls. She argued the plan's treatment of cross-border cooperation is inadequate and said she could not support the framework in its present form.
Main criticisms of the framework
She told the minister the framework must deal strategically and systematically with housing, climate change, energy security and the prosperity of everyone on the island. She said plans must be future-proofed for constitutional change and a referendum on Irish unity, and that the section on working with our neighbours is not adequate in that context.
Regional growth and housing data
She cited CSO statistics showing the Eastern and Midland region has grown by 55% while the Northern and Western region has grown by 15%. She also referenced Department of Housing residential commencement data for 2024 showing 63% of commencements in the Eastern and Midland region and only 10% in the Northern and Western region, arguing the framework's population-growth assumptions set a flawed narrative.
Infrastructure and public services gaps
She relayed the Northern and Western regional assembly's reporting that the area ranks in the bottom 20 of EU regions for transport infrastructure, and flagged underinvestment across higher education, research, water, roads and the grid. She said the current plan fails to meet those needs.
Position and consequence
She questioned how a 50-50 growth strategy will tackle the existing imbalance and stagnation in the West and North West, and concluded that on that basis she would not be able to support the National Planning Framework in its current form.
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Minister, today you're presenting the National Planning Framework, and it's the blueprint for how this state will manage strategic planning and sustainable development out to 2040. It's absolutely essential that this framework deals strategically and systematically with the major issues of our time, with housing, with climate change, with energy security and the prosperity of everyone living on the island. These issues can only be dealt with on an all-island basis. As we prepare for constitutional change and for a referendum on Irish unity, there is a responsibility on government and all agencies to ensure that the plans that they publish are future-proofed. There's probably no more important document than the National Planning Framework to ensure that we plan and we prepare in a cohesive and planned way to create a better future for all living on the island as well as for future generations. The section working with our neighbours is just not adequate in that context. As a West of Ireland representative, I believe that the framework is skewed in favour of development in Dublin and the Eastern region as well. This is not good for the West and the North West, and it's not good for Dublin and the East either. Unless we see regional development as an answer to national challenges, then we are missing opportunities and ingraining inequality. The CSO statistics show that the Eastern and Midland region has grown by 55 per cent, while the Northern and Western region has only grown by 15 per cent. Residential unit commencement data from the Department of Housing and correlated by the Northern and Western regional assembly is even more stark. In the year of 2024, 63 per cent of commencements were in the Eastern and Midland region, while only 10 per cent were in the North and Western region. So the assertion in the National Planning Framework that the population in the Eastern and Midlands region will grow at twice the rate of the Northern and Western region combined with the Southern region sets a flawed narrative for everything else in the plan. So how will 50-50 growth strategy tackle the imbalance that currently exists, the stagnation of growth in the West and the North West? The Northern and Western regional assembly have also reported that this part of the country is in the bottom 20 of EU regions in terms of transport infrastructure, with notable underinvestment also evident across the region's higher education, research, water, role and road network, as well as the grid. Unfortunately, Minister, this plan in its current form fails to meet those needs. On the basis, and on that basis, we won't be able to support it in this form. Thank you, Deputy.
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