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TDS FROM MULTIPLE parties have united to call out the government for what they claim is a deliberate attempt to rush through the Ireland 2040 plan.
The National Planning Framework Coalition, made up of Labour’s Alan Kelly, Sinn Féin’s Eoin O’Broin, Fianna Fáil’s Eamon O’Cuiv, and independent TD Michael Fitzmaurice, said the integrity of the process has been compromised.
The politicians told reporters today that the government is seeking to avoid a vote on National Planning Framework (NPF) by circumventing their own legislation.
The NPF is the government’s long-term plan for Ireland over the next twenty years.
Between now and 2040, the government wants to pull together all its action plans to ensure that it has national and regional strategies in place as Ireland’s population grows and as challenges such as Brexit land on our doorstep.
Ministers are due to travel to Sligo to launch the plan this Friday.
Kelly, who was the minister who initiated the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill during the FG-Labour coalition, said it clearly states that a vote on the National Planning Framework should take place in both Houses of the Oireachtas in order to place the plan on a statutory footing.
The Bill is currently before the Seanad, and due to be completed in that House today. It is then due to be referred back to the Dáil next week.
The Bill states:
Asked why the government is pushing forward with Ireland 2040 plan on Friday, before enactment of the above legislation, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the wording of the Bill states a ‘draft’ of the framework should come before the Dáil for a vote.
“D. R. A. F. T – not the final draft,” Varadkar spelled out to the Dáil.
The Taoiseach said a draft of the Bill was approved by the Houses in November. However, a number of politicians, including Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said there have been substantial changes made to the plan in recent weeks, which have not been approved.
Varadkar said there is nothing set out in law that says the plan is subject to approval by the Houses of the Oireachtas
Labour Leader Brendan Howlin told the Taoiseach that he was sitting at Cabinet when this legislation was first discussed with his predecessor Enda Kenny. Howlin claimed that it was always the intention to hold a Dáil vote on the final plan.
‘Stroke politics’
“This is stroke politics,” Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty told the Taoiseach today. He said avoiding a vote on the final plan shows “complete contempt” for the Dáil and the public.
Fianna Fáil’s Eamon O’Cuiv has called for a special Oireachtas committee to be established to consider and make amendments to the final plan.
Having been in Leinster House for a great many years, he said plans that tend to be rushed through without consultation “tend to fall flat on their face”.
O’Cuiv said the government would be wise to try and get as much political buy-in for the plan.
“We have to remember we are talking about 23-year plan. One thing is certain, there will be changes in government, there will be changes here in Leinster House and what we need to do is get the biggest consensus we can,” he said.
The Galway-West TD said it would be ”totally foolhardy” for the government to press on with the plan without the approval of the Dáil, stating that it will result in the plan not lasting the pace to 2040.
Kelly said the government is engaging in “skullduggery” by launching the plan to much fanfare on Friday without consulting with opposition parties.
“Huge pressure” is now on the government not to proceed as planned on Friday, said Sinn Féin’s Eoin O’Broin.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has agreed to meet with the coalition of TDs at 4pm to discuss their concerns.
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No surprises there. Fine Gael ignored the wishes of its membership when they gave leo the top job, so it’s not much of a stretch that they will also ignore the requests of elected representatives.
@The Risen: *sigh* Still pretending you don’t understand weighted voting? You do understand members agreed to this form of leader selection? You’re like a broken record skipping on the same redunant point, over and over and over and….
@thewolf: Irony. Look it up sunshine.
@Honeybadger197: I understand that your party membership chose Coveney by a ratio of 2 to 1, despite him only being dragged over the line on the 11th count in the 2016 election, but got leo.
@The Risen: So you don’t understand weighted voting? Thanks for clearing that up. I’m not a member of any political party either. You absolute spoofer.
Speaking of ‘looking up’, I just did a quick recheck. Coveney won 65% of the memberships vote for leader, and took till the 11th count to be re-elected in his constituency, despite being a government minister at the time.
Pretty abysmal performance.
@The Risen: Not great in fairness, still he’s tanaiste now. Your angry little cohort of Shinners and AAA/PBP headbangers are invited to look on admiringly. ;)
@Honeybadger197: “Not great in fairness, still he’s tanaiste now.”
‘Fine Gael – rewarding mediocrity for more years than we care to remember’
@The Risen: I am SO glad I have Honeybadger muted. It really is a relief not to see his bile every time I log in. I would suggest other readers should avail of this outstanding feature of The Journal!
@Elizabeth Gregory:
You’re missing out on the usual entertaining infantile wisdom by muting him. Just to update you he’s resorted to name calling again…
@The Risen: Feel free to continue to admire and begrudge his position from the political wilderness, my friend. :)
@Honeybadger197: A ‘you’re just jealous’ post? Really? Is the name calling not infantile enough?
@The Risen: Where would you rate making things up about someone on your infantile scale?
@Honeybadger197: Bang of desperation off that one HB/charles rex/charlie wrex/alan brogan.
Context?
@The Risen: Bang of avoidance there TR. Its a very simple question.
Poor HB, always desperate to change the subject when his party are trying to pull a stroke.
Nice to have an elected Taoiseach with 60% approval, and not a shinner puppet run by Gerry and his West Belfast friends : D
@The Risen: Where does making things up about someone rank on your infantile scale? Is there a correct context to telling lies? Strangely, my asking why you insist on not understanding weighted voting has neither stopped the comments here, nor affected anything outside this thread. I do enjoy watching you backpeddling though.
LOL! And look who magically appears just as HB fails to change the subject.
@Arfer Daly: Do you know the 5 lamps, Arfer?
@thewolf: Shouldn’t you be perusing the daily sport in the bookies now?
@thewolf: Any winners today?
@Honeybadger197: The truth hurts you then Badger?
@James Connolly: ROFL!
@The Risen: Leo and his gov are more deceptive with the Irish people than most of us can imagine!
This gov is having more launches than the north Korean guy but at least the north Korean guy is capable of delivering something! The only thing our gov is capable of delivering is their own pay increases.
Like the stroke Leo tried to pull yesterday when he went up north and grabbed the media and told them a solution was found, Leo fixed it, and Arlene was having none of it, and put Leo firmly back in his place, no doubt embarrassing vain Leo.
Trying to sort out the Shinner-DUP mess up there, with the UK head of state? Yeah it is hard trying to deal with incompetent children!!
@Adrian: I bet he didn’t hire a podium either. Ha haaaa.
@James Connolly: lol. Thats exactly whats it’s like, Mammy and Daddy May and Leo and the impertinent Arlene and M Lou scratching at one another.
Do people really believe in such a plan, Their record so far is not much to be pleased about.
So far as I can see all they are able to plan and ensure its done is increasing living costs and bring more hardship on the Taxpayer.
@conriel: These idiots have proven they can’t plan for 12 months ahead let alone 22 years.. Just look at how every year the flu causes a crisis in the hospitals and yet year after year no contingency plan is put into place to deal with it… The plan for 2040 is nothing but a publicity stunt…
@conriel: Sure the plans the past few years were always ‘by 2021’.
It well past time for the opposition to pull the trigger and collapse this government. The big problem I have with the 2040 plan is the level of secrecy and lack of Dail debate and tense public discussion on the whole thing.
I’m not saying Fianna fall would have done any better but who will be hard to do any worse.
@John Fergus: So who do you believe would have done a better job and why?
@MK76: a party that would enable the development plan to be far more public and thus allow far more debate and discussion on it.
@John Fergus: So which party are you referring to?
@MK76: Ah MK76… in FG fishing Mode
More like delay and endure we repeat mistakes from the past.
Question clearly is again…..
What are FG hiding this time?
@Willy Malone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21
@Willy Malone: “12.7 promote public procurement practices that are sustainable in accordance with national policies and priorities”
Many have said in the US that Agenda 21 is a backdoor to people never really owning their own property, I don’t know but we should check it out all the same?
https://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/69/700&Lang=E
The Irish government has always been able to ignore the national parliament because this country is a banana republic and all power resides in Cabinet/Politburo. The most corrupt country is Western Europe.
O’Cuiv and the other west on track politicians are throwing a hissy fit because it doesn’t include building new railways between nowhere and nowhere to carry nobody.
Leo is in love with his image and its getting flakier by the day ,cast iron guarantees lolo,stormont yesterday and now the big plan ,proving to be completely out of his depth .you can fool some of the people some of the time but you cant fool them all of the time .that speech in europe summed him up little boy lost in the crowd .
Let have a look at the plan first before criticizing it
Michael martin goes up the hill again,shouts blah blah blah,and down again.making a fool of himself and FF.
@thewolf: (Deep breath) He had 10,000 euro mysteriously appear in his wife’s ban account….
@B McQ: *bank, obviously , d’oh
@B McQ: Go on…?
@thewolf: Ah yes, it’s all coming back to me now, thanks….
@@mdmak33: So Twoface verses The Penguin?
Christ, we can’t get out of our own way in this silly, immature country of our. New politics my arse.
Leo trying to please everyone in FG, The Church of Sinnfeinology trying to please everyone that doesn’t want to pay and Alan Kelly trying to please himself.
@MK76: Leo is bring in the UN terms for Agenda 21 by the back door???
THE draft is how it is worded Leo. Not A draft. T.H.E.
Instead of having a junket to Sligo, spend the money on a new water treatment plant at Lough Talt, so that people in South county Sligo could get a proper water supply, instead of the poisonous stuff currently coming out of our taps.
Has this plan anything to do with the U.N’s. Agenda 21 Program that Ireland signed up to, when people lose the right to own their property fully?
This is hilarious! What’s the plan? we are making a plan right? Lol! Someone should come and rule us again (anyone but the English).
My comment on these so called Dublin. DŔAFT IS BE ON ME THEY ARE NOT OUR GOVERNMENT ANY MORE THEY SUCKED THE LIFE OUT OF THE PEOPLE AND NOW CARMA WILL HIT THEM WERE IT HURTS
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