CHAPTER 7: Employment and Economy

Proposed Amendments:

PA CH 7.1: Throughout the Draft Plan, as appropriate

Include ‘Town Centre First: A Policy Approach for Irish Towns’ in Appendix 3 and replace the references to the Town Centre First Strategy in the Programme for Government, Our Shared Future, with the updated document published in February 2022.

PA CH 7.2: Section 7.3 Opportunities, page 246 and Section 7.5.2.1 Integrated Tourism Complexes, page 264

Amend Section 7.3, page 246 as follows:

The Council continues to work with Fáilte Ireland on the Dublin Coastal Trail and the Dublin Coastal Destination Experience Development Plan (DEPDP) which will provide added opportunities for local small and medium sized businesses in all of Fingal’s coastal towns and villages.

Amend Section 7.5.2.1, page 264 as follows:

The Council continue to collaborate and work with Fáilte Ireland on the Destination Towns for Skerries, the Coastal Destination Experience Development Plan, the Dublin Coastal Trail and the Dublin Brand.

PA CH 7.3: Section 7.4 Strategic Aims, page 248

Replace the wording ‘Blanchardstown IT’ with ‘TU Dublin (Blanchardstown)’ in Table 7.1 as follows:

Blanchardstown IT TU Dublin (Blanchardstown)

PA CH 7.4: Section 7.4 Strategic Aims, page 249

Amend the following:

Dublin 15 lands – The Dublin Enterprise Zone or DEZ is an area of around 1571 hectares, located in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15 and is home to a variety of industries from R&D, HighTech Manufacturing, Industrial, General Enterprise and Employment. While half of the Dublin Enterprise Zone has been developed, there is the potential to create an additional 20,000 jobs on the 716 hectares of undeveloped, zoned and serviced land available in the Zone. The Dublin 15 location has many benefits for business, being situated very close to Dublin Airport accessible via the M50, which runs right through the Dublin Enterprise Zone. The M50 Motorway also links to Dublin Port via the Dublin Tunnel on the M1. Having regard to the commencement of the roll out of the BusConnects programme along with the provision of additional bus routes in the Dublin 15 area, there are presently five eight separate Dublin Bus routes and 6 separate Go Ahead Ireland routes traversing the Zone. These transport links provide any enterprise or business located in the Dublin Enterprise Zone exceptional access to goods & services.

PA CH 7.5: Section 7.5.1 Employment and Economic Development, page 252

Insert a new Objective immediately after Objective EEO4 in Chapter 7 of the Draft Plan as follows:

Objective EEOXX – Enterprise Start-up Hubs

Support the establishment of Enterprise Start-up Hubs in Fingal to promote and support local enterprise.

PA CH 7.6: Section 7.5.1 Economic Development, page 256

Include a new Objective immediately following Objective EEO24, as follows:

Objective EEOXX – Craft Apprenticeship Schemes

Promote and facilitate Council run craft apprenticeship schemes, working with SOLAS, for the main trades, including plumbing, electricians, painting/ decorating, stonecutting/stonemasonry, carpentry/joinery, brick and stone laying, pipefitting, plastering, scaffolding, in particular given the scarcity of skilled tradesmen and women employed by this Council.

PA CH 7.7: Section 7.5.1.1 Green Economy, page 256

Insert the following text as a new second paragraph:

Access to a well-developed broadband network will enable the further development of the green economy by supporting remote working and the creation of employment. The IDA strategy ‘Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth’ notes that new ways of working will introduce new locations as competitors for FDI internationally and will present opportunities to advance local and regional development through the creation of jobs in areas that might previously have been overlooked in favour of more urban centres. Access to broadband will support remote working (and remote learning), helping to create jobs across all regions.

PA CH 7.8: Section 7.5.1.1 Green Economy, page 257

Amend Objective EEO29 as follows:

Support the growth of business in the green and circular economy and the initiatives within the IDA strategy “Driving Recovery and Sustainable Growth’, or any superseding document, including through the accelerated roll-out of the National Broadband Plan.

PA CH 7.9: Section 7.5.1.1 Green Economy, page 257

Insert a new Objective below Objective EEO29, as follows:

Objective EEOXX – Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan

Support the Dublin Regional Enterprise Plan 2024 in this Plan.

PA CH 7.10: Section 7.5.2.1 Integrated Tourism Complexes, page 262-263

Amend 7.5.2.1 Integrated Tourism Complexes, as follows:

The Council will continue to encourage the development of integrated tourism/leisure/recreational complexes in demesne type landscapes in the County, where such uses are consistent with the retention of such landscapes and only where the sensitive conservation and appropriate use of the historic buildings are the priority and where the interventions to the historic designed landscape are sympathetic and informed by a thorough understanding of the significance of the landscape features. The land holding of the main historic house/building, the outbuildings and other ancillary structures and the historic designed landscape should all be within the one ownership in order to deliver the aim of the Integrated Tourism Complex concept. Development proposals will need to be accompanied and directed by a Conservation Plan and a Designed Landscape Appraisal. The conservation of these assets into the future is essential and the Council recognises the need for the appropriate sustainable reuse of these buildings. An integrated tourism/leisure/recreational complex should may include a number of the following where they are of an appropriate scale and design for the setting:

• Hotel and associated facilities, conference centre, events facilities, golf course, equestrian centre, trekking centre, fitness centre, health/spa/wellness centre, indoor/outdoor water facility, fishing facility, museums, nature trails, walking routes and associated facilities.
• It may also include tourist related residential and leisure retail which is ancillary to the main tourist attraction. The tourist related residential development shall be contained within the existing buildings and retained in single company ownership and shall not be sold off individually.

A comprehensive planning application will be required for the entire complex which will include proposals, where appropriate, for:

• The preservation/conservation of natural amenities on the site,
• The preservation/conservation of the heritage structures on the site,
• The retention of the open nature of the lands,
• Significant and intensive Careful and sympathetic additional landscaping of the site

The complexes that will be considered for such proposals include;

• Abbeyville
• Dunsoghly Castle
• Roganstown
• Tyrrelstown House
• Hampton Demesne
• Beech Park House

PA CH 7.11 : Section 7.5.3.5 Agriculture, Agri-food and Farm diversification, page 274

Amend Objective EEO77 as follows:

Support and facilitate the growth of agribusiness in Fingal and encourage agribusiness and support services which are directly related to the local horticultural or agricultural sectors in RB and FP zoned areas.

PA CH 7.12: Section 7.5.3.5 Agriculture, Agri-Food and Farm diversification, page 274

Amend Policy EEP31 as follows:

Support the objectives and actions of the Fingal Agri-food Strategy 2019-2021 and the new Fingal Food Policy which will be developed in the lifetime of this plan.

PA CH 7.13: Section 7.5.3.5 Agriculture, Agri-Food and Farm diversification, page 274

Amend Objective EEO80 as follows:

Objective EEO80

Engage and collaborate with key stakeholders, relevant agencies, sectoral representatives and local communities to develop the agri-food sector in Fingal and the new Fingal Food Policy, to promote and showcase the agri-food sector, including supporting events such as the Flavours of Fingal, and to ensure that the economic potential of the sector is secured for the benefit of local communities, the environment, the local economy, and national economy.

PA CH 7.14: Section 7.5.5 Retail Hierarchy, page 279

Remove Lusk, Rush and Donabate from Level 3 of Table 7.2: Fingal Retail Hierarchy and include Lusk, Rush and Donabate in Level 4 of Table 7.2: Fingal Retail Hierarchy, as follows:

Level 3: Balbriggan, Malahide, Skerries, Charlestown, Rush, Lusk and Donabate

Level 4: Rush, Lusk, Donabate, Blanchardstown Village, Mulhuddart, Clonsilla, Castleknock, Howth, Portmarnock, Baldoyle, Ongar, Sutton, Balrothery

PA CH 7.15: Section 7.5.5 Retail Hierarchy, pages 280 and 282

Amend the following text on pages 280 and 282 of the Draft Plan:

Town and/or District Centres

Balbriggan, Malahide, Skerries, and Charlestown, (Rush, Lusk and Donabate) are included at Level 3 of the Fingal Retail Hierarchy. These centres are well distributed geographically throughout the County, with significant resident-populations and also serving wider catchment areas, some into rural areas. While these towns are unique with distinctive characters and historic development, they perform and have further potential to perform over the Plan period to a higher retailing level due to the strength of their resident-population and catchment-population.

Objective EEO90 – Level 3 Centres: Ensure the development of Balbriggan, Malahide, Skerries, and Charlestown, (Rush, Lusk and Donabate) as sustainable, vibrant and prosperous Town Centres performing at a high retail level within the Fingal Retail Hierarchy to meet the retailing needs of and offer sufficient retail choice to their local populations and catchment populations.

Objective EEO91: Facilitate appropriately scaled improvements to the quantum and quality of retail offer and function in Balbriggan, Malahide, Skerries, and Charlestown, (Rush, Lusk and Donabate) and ensure their sustainable development by consolidating, intensifying and enhancing their existing core retail areas, and by directing new retail opportunities into the core retail areas identified for each

Neighbourhood Centres, Local Centres-Small Towns and Villages

Level 4 of the Fingal Retail Hierarchy includes a number of important small towns, urban village centres, and local centres. These are dispersed throughout the County including urban centres such as Rush, Lusk, Donabate, Blanchardstown Village, Mulhuddart, Clonsilla, Castleknock, and Ongar in the west of the County, Balrothery to the north, and Howth, Portmarnock, Baldoyle, and Sutton to the east. A complete list of Level 4 centres is included in the Fingal Retail Hierarchy in Table 1 above.