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Fifty years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland. Professor Jim Walsh Maynooth University. Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland. Professor Jim Walsh NIRSA / ESPON Conference on Creating the Regions of Tomorrow Maynooth University 26 th September 2014.
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Fifty years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Professor Jim Walsh Maynooth University
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Professor Jim Walsh NIRSA / ESPON Conference on Creating the Regions of Tomorrow Maynooth University 26th September 2014 maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Context • From no planning framework to a highly integrated and comprehensive model, internationally respected • From deep inter-county disparities in pc incomes to much reduced differentials • Gap between avg indices for five richest and five poorest counties has declined from 44 in 1960 to 23 in 2000 and 18 in 2011 - strong convergence • Innovative & imitative, but weak on capacity building, implementation and governance • Poised for recovery – new approaches required maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland 1990s-2008: National recovery – other contextual changes • Sustainable Development Strategy, 1997 – ESDP influence • Planning Act 2000 - sustainable development as key principle; RPGs; EIAs; consolidation of previous legislation • 1998 Good Friday Agreement • National Spatial Strategy 2002-2020 • Northern Ireland Regional Development Strategy • FirstWhite Paper on Rural Development 1999 maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland 1990s-2008: Emergence of Spatial perspective • Relational vs absolutist concepts of space and regions • Two key policy initiatives: White Paper on Rural Development and National Spatial Strategy • Extensive consultation Rural Development WP – key features: • Rural-urban linkages, functional spatial hierarchies, multi-sector economy, diverse rural communities, recognition of rural Ireland beyond the farm gate, LEADER success • But, weak governance & implementation structures, policy inertia and resistance from vested interests, emergence of artificial and unsustainable rural development model maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland National Spatial Strategy – (see Administrationvol 60, 3, 2013) • Focus on balanced regional development & regional potential • National & regional Gateways + Inter-urban transport infras...(echo of Buchanan) • Management and governance structures • Gateways Innovation Fund • Gateways / Hubs Development Index But maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland National Spatial Strategy – (see Administrationvol 60, 3, 2013) But • Insufficient understanding of regional economic dynamics in Ireland • Weak & inconsistent political commitment – no statutory basis, withdrawal of GIF, decentralisation • Insufficient attention to areas beyond the Gateways • Statutory basis absent – Mahon Tribunal • Profound changes in macro-economic context maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland 1990s-2008: Significant Progress in Planning Legislation • 2000 Planning and Development Act: introduced sustainable development principles, EIAs, Social housing, RPGs • 2006 P&D Act Strategic Infrastructure – recognition of complexity of major projects of national strategic importance • 2010 P&D (Amendment) Act – NSS, Core Strategies – multi-scalar integration – framework of nested hierarchy of plans • But eclipse of good planning by developer-led property investments supported by political decisions re investment incentives, and inadequate professional resourcing of planning maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Post 2008 • New era of international controls – ECB, IMF, EU semester process • Fiscal policy, debt management, austerity measures • Return to divergence in regional GVA – productivity differentials increased – Border & Midlands <60% of state average; Dublin almost 50% > avg. • Increasing concentration of new employment • Loss of dynamic in Northern Ireland peace process – impact on Border region • Return of net emigration – greater negative impact on weaker regions • But little change in regional pc income differentials maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Recurring Themes • Disconnect between spatial planning and regional development goals for most of the last fifty years – regular contestation of fundamental principles • Inter-dependence of regions. Regional well-being not synonymous with regional output – sectoral productivity differentials and inter-regional income transfers are both important. • Impact of commuting on regional performance metrics • Progressive reduction in inter-county disparities in household incomes via other mechanisms maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Recurring Themes • Increasing influence of EU on physical planning and the relationship with economic planning – ESDP and ESPON process very important; Territorial Cohesion Frameworks • Over reliance of economic planning on external forces and special instruments: FDI, EU • Inadequate understanding of complexity of spatial relations and scalar effects in Irish context • Power of inertia, illusion and vested interests in frustrating innovation • Paralysis by weak governance and contradictory strategies maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Implications for future: SWOT • Early signals of economic recovery, but also high risk of multi-speed adjustments with strong contrasts between cities and other areas, T • Medium Term Economic Strategy 2014-2020 plus Construction Strategy 2020, &draft National Landscape Strategy: not an NDP O • Balanced regional development no longer a strategic goal - W • But, 3 new Regional Assemblies to prepare Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies, that will provide bridge between NSS and Local Economic and Community Plans – significant opportunity to address scalar issue O • Strengthened Framework for Physical Planning - Core strategy statements at local level and RSES at regional level - S maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Implications for future: SWOT • But local govt political system struggling W • CEDRA Strategy for Rural Areas – essential complement to strategies for Gateways, implement pilot REDZs, but misguided allocation of political responsibility O & T • Higher Education and Further Education reforms provide opportunities but significant challenges remain in relation to both horizontal and vertical coordination O & W • Changes in EU context – Cohesion framework, Europe 2020, Horizon 2020, CAP, competition from EU13 O &T • New Ireland – EU relationship via European Semester and National Reform Programmes but NRP is spatially blind W&T maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Conclusions • Much achieved, mostly via gradual incremental changes • Some major mistakes - need to learn • Co-existence of plurality of approaches to planning • Increased role of EU as a key driver • Now at a critical point at start of next phase of economic development • Much stronger physical planning framework being developed maynoothuniversity.ie
Fifty Years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Conclusions: Key requirements • A clearly articulated vision & strategy for the next 20 years • Clarity on what public goods are expected from planning • Implement better management & governance frameworks • Stronger engagement between academic analysts, policy formulation units and implementing agencies, and • Sustained investment in capacity building via professional training Opportunity for Ireland • Become an international leader in design and implementation of new paradigm for smart, sustainable and inclusive planning and development. maynoothuniversity.ie