Response to issues raised in Country Report, Ireland 2018
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Response to issues raised in Country Report, Ireland 2018
This document highlights the regional perspective in relation to views for the Irish National Reform
Programme. This document responds to issues of regional importance raised in the Country Report
Ireland 2018.
Spatial Planning and Infrastructure
The newly launched Project Ireland 20401 contains two parts:
• The National Planning Framework (NPF). The NPF along with the Regional Spatial and
Economic Strategies (RSES) will decide how to achieve balanced regional development in
Ireland.
• A National Development Plan (NDP) which complements the Planning Framework detailing
how €116 billion worth of investment will be spent over the next 10 years.
These will serve as vehicles to harmonise and coordinate different policy responses. Project Ireland
2040 represents a coordinated policy between spatial development and capital investment. The three
Regional Assemblies in Ireland have the statutory function to lead the formulation implementation
and monitoring of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES).
The RSES will enable the implementation of the NPF at regional and local levels. The RSES represents
an opportunity to align policy and ensure that adequate measures are taken to improve regional
performance. Each RSES aims to ensure that future growth and development patterns will meet the
needs of the regions and their people and are important for the sound and sustainable development
of the region for the duration of the plan period and beyond. RSES are highly relevant as spatial
planning and infrastructure provision are critical issues in a rapidly changing Ireland. More integrated
and efficient spatial planning will aid in overcoming emerging infrastructure bottlenecks identified in
the Country Report Ireland 2018.
Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies (RSES)
Each one of the three Regional Assemblies will prepare their own RSES. The formulation process of
the RSES will enable the implementation of the NPF at regional and local levels. The RSES serve as
strategic links between the NPF and the Local Economic and Community Plans at local authority level
that enable Local Governments to create favourable conditions for progress and wellbeing to all its
inhabitants.
The formulation process of the RSES has begun with the publication of Issues Papers to inform the
initial consultation period. Local authorities, public and private agencies, interest groups and any
interested member of the public were invited to make submissions on the Issues Paper. Each Regional
Assembly produced a Director’s Report, discussing the emerging themes of the consultation
processes. As well as providing a summary of the submissions received, the Directors Report sets out
the Director’s response to the issues raised in the submissions.
As well as the RSES, the NPF introduced the concept of Metropolitan Area Strategic Plans (MASPs) as
a new policy tool to be employed in tandem with and as part of the RSES process. MASPs will be
prepared for the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. In the case of Dublin and Cork,
the MASPs will address the wider city region in the context of the RSES.
1
http://www.per.gov.ie/en/reimagining-our-country-government-launches-e116bn-project-ireland-2040
1
Response to Planning Related Issues Raised in the Country Report
Undersupply of Housing
The Country Report Ireland 2018 acknowledges progress made by the Irish Government in terms of
interventions to tackle the undersupply of housing. Project Ireland 2040 aims to construct at least
25,000 homes a year by 2020, rising to 30-35,000 annually up to 2027, in addition it aims to provide
social housing for 112,000 households over the next decade.
The 2017 Annual progress report on unfinished housing2 states that there has been a 91% decrease in
the unfinished developments since 2010. Unfinished Housing Development teams established in local
authorities have had great success on the ground. As part of the National Development Plan vacant or
under-used land in villages, towns and cities are to be put into use through a National Regeneration
and Development Agency.
Property market
With regards to the property market, residential property prices and rents continue to rise. The Irish
Government Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness3 aims to address this market failure. The
Rebuilding Ireland Home Loan scheme4 is a new Government-backed mortgage scheme for first-time
buyers which became available on Thursday, 1st February 2018. Figures for house building show a 34%
increase in commencement notices between January 2017 and January 20185.
Health
Project Ireland 2040 contains a number of provisions in the health sector. It aims to provide 2,600
extra acute hospital beds and three new dedicated ambulatory elective-only hospitals in Dublin, Cork
and Galway to specifically tackle waiting lists6. The NDP aims to provide extra primary care centres
and more residential accommodation for mental health services and people with disabilities. From a
regional perspective RSES aim to ensure that the health and wellbeing of the people of the region is
central to future policy formation.
The RSES will also take full consideration of existing relevant policy including, amongst others, national
planning policy guidance, the National Anti-Poverty Strategy, the National Action Plan for Social
Inclusion and Healthy Ireland – A framework for improved health and well-being 2013-2025. It will be
endeavoured that People’s Health and Wellbeing is embedded within the RSES.
Response to Energy/Climate Related Issues Raised in the Country Report
Progress toward 2020 targets
The country report makes particular reference to the mismatch between Ireland current and planned
climate action, and the increased efforts need to meet Ireland’s 2020 targets in greenhouse gas
emissions (GHG) and energy efficiency. While this cannot be denied, a range of initiatives have been
undertaken at national and local levels which strive to improve Ireland’s performance in reaching
these targets. The information for the report was compiled in advance of the publication of the NPF
and NDP, and thus makes no mention of the €22billion is earmarked for climate action, and includes:
2
http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/rebuilding-ireland/national-housing-development-survey/publication-
2017-annual-progress
3
http://www.housing.gov.ie/housing/policy/launch-rebuilding-ireland-action-plan-housing-and-homelessness
4
http://rebuildingirelandhomeloan.ie/
5
http://rebuildingireland.ie/news/latest-house-building-data-shows-continued-growth/
6
http://www.per.gov.ie/en/reimagining-our-country-government-launches-e116bn-project-ireland-2040/
2• Complete phase out by 2030 of peat and coal in electric generation
• Climate Action Fund (€500 million) focusing on the transport sector
• €4billion exchequer investment (2018-2030) along with taxation & regulatory measures, to
improve residential energy performance, with home upgrades increasing from 30,000 to
45,000 per annum from 2021.
• New Renewable Electricity Support Scheme to support up to 4,500MW additional renewable
electricity by 2030
• Expected investment of €13billion by state owned enterprises, particularly to provide
improved reliability in electricity networks, support network security, SMART metering and
enable increased renewable generation.
• Transitioning the transport fleet to low-/zero-carbon vehicles.
• Innovation investment in agriculture, facilitating emission reductions.
Additionally, at local level, twenty-eight county councils and the regional assemblies have taken
actions to reduce energy use and improve energy efficiency as part of the Sustainable Energy Authority
of Ireland’s (SEAI) Public Sector Partnership Programme. The goal of this programme is to increase
public sector energy efficiency by 33% by 2020. As of 2016, progress stands at 20% energy efficiency
improvement equating to 520,000 tonnes of CO2equiv.
Finally, the Country Report is unaware of new schemes coming online to incentivise the transition to
a low carbon economy at household level. The Minister for Communication, Climate Action & the
Environment has stated that “It is [his] intention to open a grant aided pilot scheme this summer [2018]
for solar PV microgeneration, targeted initially at self-consumption and for domestic properties.”
Need for public and private investment in smart metering,
The report makes reference to the EPA's 2016 statement that there is "considerable need for public
and private investment in energy infrastructure, including in management systems, smart distribution
and storage". However, there has been large strides in this direction. Besides the acknowledge
upcoming national smart metering programme, other smart systems currently available include ESB's
Smart Energy Services, Bord Gais' HIVE, and Airtricity's Smart Energy Monitor. Irish Water's meters
can be considered a form of smart meter, as they feature Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) technology
where a transmitter periodically sends out meter readings to a receiver in one of their vehicles.
Additionally, SEAI administers several fiscal supports to encourage household and community level
investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency retrofitting and thermal insulation.
Need for investment in water infrastructure
While the need for investment in water/waste water services is undeniable, particularly in the
aftermath of Storm Emma, considerable efforts have, and will be, undertaken to address this. The
National Development Plan allocates €430 million for flood mitigation initiatives over the period 2016
to 2021. In addition, as noted in the report, investment in water infrastructures will continue to
ameliorate the current issues. Investment of €8.5 billion will be implemented by Irish Water over the
period to 2027. This investment includes substantial actions toward waste water treatment.
Additional investment comes in the form of €95 million for the Rural Water Programme, and €41
million for legacy issues relating to lead pipes and inadequate infrastructure provided by developers.
3General remarks
Brexit
On top of the many studies already carried out on the impact of Brexit, including the comprehensive
analysis from Copenhagen Economics commissioned by DBEI7, other reports take into account the
effects Brexit will have at a regional and local level.
The majority of these studies use the pre-2015 regional structure, i.e. the former BMW and SE regions.
Despite this, these studies provide valuable indications of the likely regional impacts of Brexit. A study
by Chen et al. (2017)8 shows that if considered in aggregate, the regional shares of local GDP exposed
to Brexit for the two Irish Regions are quite similar (10.13% for BMW and 10.12% for SE), however
different sections of the economy will be impacted. In the BMW region, the primary industries sector
will be more affected, and in the SE region, the impact on construction and services will be more
pronounced. This report noted that Brexit impacts on Irish regions are on par with the impacts to UK
regions, and at least double the impact felt by any other EU region.
Another report9 commissioned by the CoR analyses the exposure of EU27 regions to the UK and the
likely impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on regions and cities in EU27. Although the results
must be interpreted with caution given the uncertainty surrounding the whole process, the study
shows that the effects of Brexit will be felt differently among the European regions depending on the
sector under scrutiny. Below are some examples of the results relevant to Ireland.
Figure 1: Brexit
regional exposure
index (CoR report,
2018)
7 https://dbei.gov.ie/en/Publications/Publication-files/Ireland-and-the-Impacts-of-Brexit.pdf
8 The continental divide? Economic exposure to Brexit in regions and countries on both sides of The Channel – Chen et al.,
2017 - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pirs.12334/full
9 François Levarlet, Paolo Seri, Dea Hrelja, Elodie Lorgeoux, Christian Lüer and Martyna Derszniak-Noirjean. 2018. Assessing
the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on regions and cities in EU27. Specific Contract 7298, implementing
framework contract n° CDR/DE/16/2015/1
4Figure 2: Exposure
index for
Vegetables,
Foodstuff and
Wood, regional
level (CoR report,
2018
EU Funding
The report highlights the crucial support EU funds, in particular European Structural and Investment
Funds (ESIF), have brought to Ireland. Out of the five OPs, two are managed at the regional level by
the Southern Regional Assembly and the Norther and Western Regional Assembly. These OPs are co-
funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and support the development of
broadband, research, energy efficiency and businesses. It is therefore of the utmost importance that
regional funding is maintained in the years to come as it is key to the balanced development of all Irish
regions.
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