New plan will look to the future

A NEW national planning framework, Ireland 2040 - Our Plan, will focus on areas such as housing, jobs, transport, education, health, environment, energy and communications.

One of the principal purposes of Ireland 2040 will be national development goals, including improved living standards, quality of life, prosperity, competitiveness and environmental sustainability, which will all be more broadly considered. It is also envisaged this will also provide greater clarity for private sector investment.

Senior planner at Wicklow County Council, Sorcha Walsh, provided councillors with a presentation outlining the framework’s details.

It is intended that the Ireland 2040 Plan will be a high-level document that will provide the framework for future development and investment in Ireland. It will be the overall plan from which other, more detailed plans will take their lead.

Ireland 2040 will also be a tool to assist the achievement of more effective regional development. In order to ensure that positive outcomes arising from national growth can be shared by people throughout Ireland, the potential of all areas will need to be realised, relative to their capacity for sustainable development. The framework will seek to identify how best to work towards all of these shared goals for the benefit of the Country as a whole. It will also have statutory backing.

Written submissions from the public were accepted up until Thursday. However, there will be further opportunities for the public and all interested parties to make a submission relating to the framework at a later stage in the process.