Séamus Boland CEO Irish Rural Link
“We can only look at what’s in front of us and we fully welcome what we now see before us,” says Irish Rural Link ceo Séamus Boland. “We looked for economic drivers for the Midlands and the North-West. We wanted the same resources put into towns there as were going into other cities. That’s the only way you will get balanced regional development.”
He believes the plan represents a major step forward but does have some concerns.
“We have yet to see how the plan will be implemented. Now that Athlone and Sligo have been picked we will have to see what will be put in places planning -wise to support them. But the plan is still very welcome. We have had decentralisation and other strategies in the past but they did not achieve balanced regional development.”
Pat Doyle CEO Peter McVerry Trust
“It’s great to see such a big and ambitious capital plan proposed and to have a clear goal of 550,000 new homes by 2040. The plan is also a clear signal that we are now in a position to deliver much-needed large scale social and infrastructure projects”, says Peter McVerry Trust ceo Pat Doyle.
“People will know that the single biggest legacy of the crash was the lack of funds available to invest social housing and other important areas. This plan provides a long-term vision to invest in housing and other critical areas such as education which ultimately will have a positive impact on efforts to tackle homelessness.”
However, it’s important that the appropriate amount of social and affordable homes be provided, he adds.
“One of the most important measures in the plan is the creation of a National Development and Regeneration Agency. This agency has the potential to be a game changer in land use in Ireland,” Doyle concludes.
Bríd O’Brien, INOU Head of Policy
“One of the things that struck me about the vision section of the summary document was one line which said: ‘Wellbeing, equality and opportunity represent the core, interdependent themes of Project Ireland 2040’. I thought that would be great if it happened,”says INOU head of policy Bríd O’Brien.
However, for her the plan itself fell short on detail.
“But then when I looked at the full NDP document wellbeing was mentioned once, and that was in the heritage section”, she continues. “And the references to equality were mostly under the Justice and Equality heading and mainly under the law and order side of that.
“I just hope that the people who tend to get left behind don’t get left behind again,” she adds “The challenge is to create development that is truly inclusive and where people living in areas of disadvantage in rural and urban Ireland get a look-in this time around.”
Justin Moran Age Action Ireland
“There was definitely some good news for older people in the commitments on health with promises of more public community nursing home beds, more primary care centres and the new elective-only hospitals but there is a certain amount of scepticism among our members about how much of this will be delivered,” says Justin Moran, head of advocacy and communications with Age Action.
“One thing that was missing though was a sense that the Government understands the urgency of planning for the housing needs of growing numbers of older people. By 2040 there will be more than 1.2 million people over the age of 65 living in Ireland. We would have liked to have seen some plans for more sheltered and community housing, for requiring new houses to be more easily adaptable to facilitate changes to people’s needs as they age. We need a lot more innovative thinking in housing policy in Ireland to be better prepared for the demographic changes that are happening right now, let alone in the coming years.”