Vol. 261 Tuesday, No. 1 6 November 2018 DÍOSPÓIREACHTAÍ PARLAIMINTE PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES SEANAD ÉIREANN TUAIRISC OIFIGIÚIL—Neamhcheartaithe (OFFICIAL REPORT—Unrevised) Insert Date Here 06/11/2018A00100Business of Seanad 2 06/11/2018B00300Commencement Matters 3 06/11/2018B00400Regional Development Policy ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������3 SEANAD ÉIREANN Dé Máirt, 6 Samhain 2018 Tuesday, 6 November 2018 Chuaigh an Cathaoirleach i gceannas ar 1430 pm Machnamh agus Paidir. Reflection and Prayer. 06/11/2018A00100Business of Seanad 06/11/2018B00200An Cathaoirleach: I have received notice from Senator Anthony Lawlor that, on the mo- tion for the Commencement of the House today, he proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to maintain the designation of Naas, County Kildare, as a tier 1 large growth town I have also received notice from Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to approve the application for tempo- rary accommodation by St Joseph’s secondary school, Rush, County Dublin I have also received notice from Senator Neale Richmond of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the provision of a permanent school for Ballinteer Educate Together national school, Dublin 16 I have also received notice from Senator Aodhán Ó Ríordáin of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Health to provide an update on the proposed €40 million upgrade for Beaumont Hospital emergency department I have also received notice from Senator Martin Conway of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to conduct a national audit of uniden- tified remains to establish the numbers involved; and if he will provide additional resources to the DNA profiling programme. I have also received notice from Senator Colm Burke of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to put in place a more expeditious procedure for dealing with visa applications for spouses of medical or nursing practitioners 2 6 November 2018 who are working in the Irish healthcare system I have also received notice from Senator Robbie Gallagher of the following matter: The need for the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people to provide an update on the introduction of legislation relating to the fair deal scheme, par- ticularly with regard to the three year cap on payments based on farm and business assets and how this will be applied I have also received notice from Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill of the following matter: The need for the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment to make a statement on the number of post office closures following confirmation of the clo- sure of Gort an Choirce post office in County Donegal. The matters raised by the Senators are suitable for discussion and I have selected Senators Lawlor, Clifford-Lee, Richmond and Ó Ríordáin and they will be taken now. I regret I had to rule out of order the matter submitted by Senator Ó Domhnaill on the ground that the Minister has no official responsibility in the matter. The other Senators may give notice on another day of the matters that they wish to raise 06/11/2018B00300Commencement Matters 06/11/2018B00400Regional Development Policy 06/11/2018B00500Senator Anthony Lawlor: As someone who has grown up and lived in Naas all my life, I understand the situation regarding what is proposed for the town Under the regional spatial and economic strategy, in the hierarchy of the regional planning guidelines, it is proposed that Naas be downgraded from a tier 1 growth town to simply a growth town As a result of its status as a tier 1 growth town, Naas was able to access funding in recent years, with €283 million of Government investment in the town That included the Osberstown treatment plant, increasing the capacity of the Ballymore Eustace water treatment plant, a €110 million investment in the Sallins bypass, the Osberstown interchange and the widening of the N7 to three lanes It also included investment in schools Mercy Convent primary school in Naas is currently being rebuilt and other schools have been proposed, including Naas commu- nity college There was investment in Naas hospital and a business park in Osberstown The State has invested heavily in all these things Tier 1 growth town designation means that housing development should be based primar- ily on employment growth, accessible by sustainable transport modes and quality of life rather than unsustainable commuting patterns People may have thought that Naas was a commuter town but that is not the case Some 11,000 people work in Naas while 7,500 leave Naas to work elsewhere People travel from Dublin to work in Naas The companies in Naas are not multina- tionals but indigenous companies, of which Kerry Foods is the largest The Queally Group and 3 Seanad Éireann Dawn Farm foods are located there and each employs 700 to 800 people The county council offices are also located there. It has Naas hospital and the HSE has established a regional base there Naas should be considered a tier 1 growth town rather than a growth town, which is what it has been downgraded to in the current proposal in the regional, spatial and economic strat- egy There is planning permission for more than 2,500 houses to be built If those houses are built, it will mean Naas will have reached the population targets set out in the strategy Naas is an economic zone outside of Dublin It is the only one being proposed There is no regional growth centre between Dublin and Cork or Dublin and Limerick That is a major corridor be- tween the three main cities Naas needs to be upgraded to a regional growth centre, not unlike Dundalk, Drogheda or Athlone, because it is a growth centre for employment and should not be seen as a commuter town In the 1970s, the Myles Wright report stated it should be designated an economic zone There are 11,500 people working in Naas town It needs to be upgraded to a regional centre I hope the Minister of State will comment on maintaining Naas as a tier 1 growth town and upgrading it to a regional growth town 06/11/2018C00200Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government (Deputy Damien English): I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss the matter and bring some clarity to it I welcome the opportunity to provide clarity and address any misun- derstanding that may have arisen We had some discussion of Project Ireland 2040 and the regional plans in the Dáil We need to have more discussion in this House, in committee and the Dáil to tease out what we are trying to achieve with the roll-out of Project Ireland 2040 and the regional and county plans There is a little confusion People have talked about there being limited ambition The designation to which the Senator refers, that of tier 1 large growth town, forms part of the regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area, which, in addition to the four Dublin local authority areas, includes the three mid-eastern counties of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow Those guidelines are being superseded by a new draft regional strategy and this may have resulted in some confusion The designation, tier 1 large growth town, which was used in previous publications has been discontinued In the new draft regional strategy such areas are now designated as a key town to simplify matters They are not being downgraded I want to allay the Senator’s fears about that I understand he is concerned about the future of Naas and is committed to it, as is the De- partment We see Naas as an essential town It is a key town in Kildare and the region Naas has been identified as a key town in the draft regional strategy for the eastern and midland re- gional assembly area The draft regional strategy describes in detail the function and purpose of a key town and reflects the Senator’s ambition for further job creation along with housing development and that the two be matched with the infrastructure needed In the past, housing has been developed in counties such as Meath and Kildare but there have not been enough jobs Naas has done well and has secured many indigenous jobs Kerry Group was a major factor in that We want to create and win more jobs We do not want 7,500 or 8,000 people having to commute from Naas The focus in the regional strategy is to match the two to make sure hous- ing secures jobs and jobs secure housing and that we link them together In the past we have had one or the other which is not good planning There must also be all the other infrastructural services to go with it The national planning framework, NPF, published earlier this year together with the na- tional development plan, NDP, as part of Project Ireland 2040 is intended to provide a strategic context for future planning, development and investment over the next two decades In addi- 4 6 November 2018 tion, the NPF represents the long-term strategy for Departments, State agencies, State-owned enterprises, regional and local authorities and others to support communities to achieve their potential for economic, social and infrastructural development through a shared set of strate- gic objectives and key principles The goal is to