Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21
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Helen McEntee (FG), Meath East

We all know as local representatives, because first and foremost, we are local representatives, how important it is that when we build new homes, we build new communities as well. It is not just about houses but about shops, community centres, recreational facilities, playing pitches, schools and all of the things we need to build a new community. It is important to get that right when we are developing our county development plans and that the local authorities look at all of these different options. In my county, we are working on a variation of our current county development plan. There will be a process in place for every county to develop a new county development plan. That is the time, working with our local councillors and local authorities, to ensure that any new planning is supported with these facilities the Deputy mentioned, or the space and zoning for these facilities.
Beyond that, we have a national development plan, which does not just focus on our critical infrastructure alone. Within that plan, funding can be announced by different Departments, whether for sporting agencies, community centres, active travel programmes and various other initiatives that we all we want to see advocated for. Working with the local authorities, it is important that work is put in place first.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-21