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 WalshMaynooth 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


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



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

• First White Paper on Rural Development 1999



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 consultationRural 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



National Spatial Strategy – (see Administration vol 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 IndexBut



National Spatial Strategy – (see Administration vol 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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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.


Fifty years of National and Regional Planning in Ireland Professor Jim Walsh Maynooth University.

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