Towards balanced regional attractiveness in Ireland : enhancing the delivery of the national planning framework

Title page

Contents

Acknowledgements 4

Executive Summary 8

1. Setting the scene 12

Introduction 12

A national call to address regional disparities 14

Balanced development in an environment of uneven governance 17

2. Minding the gaps in regional attractiveness 20

Eastern and Midland Sub-Regions: Dublin, Mid-East, and Midlands 22

Southern Sub-Regions: South-West, Mid-West, and South-East 23

Northern and Western Sub-Regions: Border and West 23

Zooming in on the international investor attractiveness of each sub-region 23

3. Implementing National Planning at the Regional and Local Level 25

Ireland's current approach towards more balanced regional development 25

An overview of institutional reform - and inertia - in Ireland 26

Improving regional and local competences in key policy areas 27

Bridging multi-level governance gaps in Ireland 32

Mechanisms for vertical coordination across levels of government 44

4. Governing the Metropolis: Regions and Cities in the Making 46

5. OECD Recommendations on Enhanced Delivery of the National Planning Framework 53

OECD Recommendations on enhanced NPF delivery for more balanced regional attractiveness 55

Annex A. Regional Attractiveness Compasses 58

Annex B. Select Local Authority Innovations in Place-Making 66

References 68

Table 3.1. Multi-level Governance Gaps 34

Table 3.2. Funding Regional Development Under Project Ireland 2040 36

Table 3.3. Framework For Multi-Level Engagement 44

Table 5.1. From stepped change to sea-change: opportunities for reform to enhance regional attractiveness 53

Figure 1.1. Download speeds, % deviation from the OECD average - vary sharply with a strong advantage for Dublin 14

Figure 1.2. Index of regional disparities in GDP per capita (richest 20% relative to poorest 20% of regions) 15

Figure 1.3. Share of green-task jobs across and within countries, OECD regions, 2021 or last available year 15

Figure 1.4. Passenger Rail Performance by TL3 Region and EU average, 2021 16

Figure 2.1. Framework for regional attractiveness in the new global environment 20

Figure 2.2. Territorial Grid of Ireland 21

Figure 2.3. Comparative analysis of Irish Sub-Regions Scores in each attractiveness dimension 22

Figure 2.4. Greenfield FDI Inwards in Capital Expenditure in USD millions by Sub-Region (TL3) 24

Figure 2.5. Sectoral Composition of Greenfield FDI Inwards by Sub-Region (TL3) 24

Figure 3.1. Population growth in Ireland is oriented towards the East and South 25

Figure 3.2. Capital transfers as % of local government investment, 2022 39

Figure 3.3. Availability of Funding Options at the Local Level 40

Figure 4.1. Waterford Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan 47

Boxes

Box 1.1. Multi-dimensional inequalities in Ireland 14

Box 1.2. The Architecture of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Review Process 18

Box 3.1. Effective Multi-level Governance for Talent Attraction: Canada 30

Box 3.2. Fostering agreement-based cooperation among local governments 33

Box 3.3. Vertical cooperation across levels of government 45

Box 4.1. OECD work on Metropolitan Governance 48

Box 4.2. Innovative Governance Mechanisms for City-Region Co-operation 50