Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Amendment No. 250 relates to section 27(5), the content of a regional spatial and economic strategy, on page 71. This amendment seeks to try to clarify a reference in subsection (5) to something called a "commuting zone". I do not know the definition of a "commuting zone" but we have certainly seen over the years in the context of planning that a commuting zone has become more and more sprawled, creating much longer commutes for people. I understand what the Bill tries to achieve in the regional spatial strategy in terms of identifying the "metropolitan area" and "approximating to the extent of its commuting zone", but unless we define "commuting zone", it is very hard to designate the metropolitan area. To describe what the commuting zone is, my suggestion is that "public transport" should be inserted after the word "its" in subsection (5) to indicate that a public transport network defines the commuting zone.