Address by Minister Paudie Coffey T.D.
‘Regenerating Local Spaces through Effective
Community Planning’
10.10 a.m. Thursday 26 February 2015
Dublin Castle Conference Centre
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 Deputy Secretary Mr Ian Maye, Mr Peter Sheridan, expert speakers,
panel members, Chief Executive Officers, and invited guests.

I’m delighted to welcome you to the historic surroundings of Dublin
Castle this morning and I’d like to thank Co-operation Ireland for the
opportunity to address today’s “Community Planning” seminar.

This event is particularly timely given the changes we are currently
undertaking, both North and South, in relation to community
planning. Today’s event provides a great opportunity to exchange
information and learn from each other as we move to the next phase
of our respective planning processes.

Indeed I’m pleased to say I’ll be travelling to Belfast tomorrow, to the
equally historic surroundings of Belfast City Hall, to attend the
Housing Awards 2015.
This event is another fine example of
North/South cooperation and is a celebration of the enormous
contributions that organisations and individuals make to housing and
communities on both sides of the border.
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 My colleagues in Government and I have a strong belief in the
planning process and we’re investing a lot of effort in policy and
legislative reform that will go a long way to the regeneration of local
communities and to ensuring a greater focus on communities and
development that is sustainable socially and economically as well as
environmentally.
 My own Department is playing a major role in the redevelopment of
areas of social and economic deprivation through the National
Regeneration Programme. This programme supports an ambitious
programme of regeneration at six locations nationwide, which
includes a mix of large and small scale projects.
 These projects seek to deliver social, economic and physical
regeneration with a strong community involvement in the process. As
you know, regeneration is not just about physical investment. It is
much more than this. Regeneration seeks to rebuild damaged
communities by improving not just the physical environment in which
people live but also by investing in the social and economic life of the
areas.
It is about rebuilding communities from the ground up –
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making sure that they are places that people are proud to come from,
places where people want to live and work in, rear and educate their
children and to enjoy their later years in an inclusive and safe
environment.
 Communities must have a say in the planning of their areas. The
Government’s Action Programme for Effective Local Government
particularly recognises the need for local government to build strong
relationships with the local community.
By improving citizen
engagement in local government, decision-making will be better
informed and strengthened.
 This is why the Government has established Local Community
Development Committees in each local authority area and tasked
them with developing Local Economic and Community Plans, using a
‘community planning’ approach in respect of the community elements
of the Plans.
The Committees have oversight and planning
responsibility for local development and community programmes in
their area. They are made up of stakeholders from local government,
local development, State agencies and the community and voluntary
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sector, and are focused on identifying the local and community
development needs and priorities for their area. These priorities will
be set out in Local Economic and Community Plans currently being
developed and which will be ready by the end of this year.
 I hope to shortly publish arrangements for the preparation of a new
National Planning Framework to succeed the National Spatial
Strategy. This Framework will set the strategic agenda for planning
in Ireland, taking account of our wider island, European and global
contexts and co-ordinating policies and investment decisions in areas
such as regional competitiveness, urban and rural development,
transport, well-being and environmental quality.
 Both Minister Kelly and I have a shared vision in wanting the National
Planning Framework to be new, to be different and to deliver
sustainable development.
 The newly shaped Regional Assemblies will be preparing Regional
Spatial and Economic Strategies, in tandem with the preparation of
the National Planning Framework, to ensure that they will be effective
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and followed through by all relevant public sector bodies, particularly
those with responsibility for economic development and enterprise
promotion.
 I think that you’ll agree that we are now on the cusp of a dynamic
period of regeneration at all levels no more so than at local
community level, as long as we get the planning aspects right.
 Local community planning is empowering and beneficial for
communities throughout Ireland. There is a great sense of pride in
one’s community and involving local inhabitants at a meaningful level
can garner significant information and ideas that otherwise may have
been overlooked. Community planning allows us to look at towns
and villages through the eyes of the resident.

My own home town of Portlaw was a planned industrial town and the
home of a very successful cotton mill, with the industrial houses and
social networks built as part of the planned town still forming a
central part of the streetscape today. In fact I recently learned that
following the development of Bessbrook in Northern Ireland, Portlaw
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truss roofs were built into Bessbrook houses. Due to Portlaw’s rich
historic heritage, a Conservation Plan was produced in 2003, which
highlights the important aspects of Portlaw that can best be secured
for the enrichment of the community.
 Let us remember therefore that planning is not just about process, it
is about outcomes, for people, for their places. We need to keep
planning clear and simple in its aims, understandable in its language
and supported by the wider public, which means listening to local
communities and focusing on what planning does best - building
great quality places that people enjoy living in, working in and
enjoying leisure time.
 I would like conclude by thanking you again for the opportunity to
speak to you this morning and I wish you well in your discussions
throughout the day.
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