Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

To be helpful, to go back to the first line of that paragraph, it says “A planning authority shall prepare a strategy”. So it is the objectives within that strategy. We are not saying that a planning authority might have to do this or it might not. It says that the strategy be prepared as part of the development plan. That is very clear. I think it is very strong. I say that respectfully. It is strong; it is not just better than nothing. It is a strong, clear statement on what is required in the preparation. It provides an obligation to “prepare strategy relating to creation, improvement and preservation of sustainable places and communities” and then it goes into what the strategy shall include objectives for. It is very strong and it allows local authority members, in the preparation of their plans, and the local authorities - the planning authorities themselves - to have regard to their own areas too which is very important. One size does not fit all in this regard. The Deputy knows that.