‘Ireland 2040’ eyes five cities to handle most of one million extra people

Many towns and villages are losing population, and offering little to the young

TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has dropped a strong hint that the longawaited motorway between Cork and Limerick could happen sooner rather than later.

In his weekly address to Fine Gael members, he spoke about how the new €550m Gort to Tuam motorway had resulted in a motorway linking Galway to Limerick. “In due course, we’ll link Limerick to Cork as well,” he said. “That’s important because it means that all roads no longer lead to Dublin.”

His comments will be welcomed by those keen to grow the economy of the western seaboard, improve regional links and help create a counterpoint to Dublin, assuming they are backed by funding in the forthcoming 10-year capital investment plan.

Regional connectivity is also referenced in an important document which was published by the Department of Housing with little or no fanfare late on Tuesday night. ‘Ireland 2040’, the National Planning Framework (NPF), sets out how the nation should be developed to accommodate an additional one million people and 500,000 new homes forecast as required in just over 22 years.

The document is ambitious, and contains useful and important recommendations. It speaks about how economic growth to date has been focused on Dublin and the east, to the detriment of the regions, and about how many towns and villages are losing population, offering little by way of opportunity to the young.

It’s clear in its message. Half of all future population growth must be centred in our five cities. People should be encouraged to live in large and smaller towns and villages, to help restore vitality and avail of existing public services.

Some 40pc of all new homes should be built on brownfield or infill sites in existing urban areas, and anyone hoping to build a one-off rural home should be obliged to set out an “economic case”.

“The days of local authorities calculating a population number, and justifying zoning of land and setting out infrastructure investment, knowing that half its housing is in the countryside, is a cop out,” one source said, adding that the policy was not excluding choice, but merely setting out the need to strengthen rural towns and villages.

Crucially, it also talks about a land management agency taking control of strategic sites in urban areas and ensuring they are properly developed, with high-density living and work spaces across a mix of tenure types, with high-quality public transport, walking and cycle facilities, parks and community services.

A goal that 40pc of new housing is within existing city, town and village boundaries can be enforced by way of statutory guidelines from the department, coupled with criteria outlining what constitutes a brownfield or infill site. Ministers have powers to oblige councils to enforce national policy.

Metropolitan area plans need to be developed for the cities. In Dublin, that would require all four local authorities working together.

Councillors will have to make up their minds about high-rise/high-density development – the plan says restrictions on building heights may not be applicable in city centres.

Local policy on height will have to match this ambition, with the carrot of the Smart Growth initiative, a fund used to pay for essential public works like parks, cycle paths and so on, being deployed where councils are committed to combating urban sprawl.

“The policies set locally will have to match the ambition,” one source said. “In identifying the cities for growth, the local policy makers have to respond. We’re also talking about backing it with investment.”

There are other good ideas – warehousing should be moved out of city cores, allowing housing to be developed on prime sites. Dublin Airport should be served by rail. Public transport systems improved across all cities.

The plan is open for public consultation. For those interested in a new way of doing business, it’s worth a read.