Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 108 and 122 together.

At national level substantial progress is being made in implementing the national spatial strategy, which is having an increasing influence on policies and programmes across a range of Departments and agencies. At regional level, a key policy bridge between national development priorities and local planning has been put in place with the adoption of regional planning guidelines to provide a strategic framework for local planning. At county and city level, strategic land use and planning frameworks for a number of gateways are in place and work is well advanced on others.

The potential impact of the strategy in terms of achieving more balanced regional development has been underscored by the Government's decision in July 2005 that the regional dimension of the next national development plan, now in preparation, will be broadly based on the NSS. The priorities of the NSS and regional planning guidelines have also been recognised in the Government's ten-year investment plan for transport, Transport 21.

In leading the implementation of the NSS it is my intention to ensure it continues to inform the macro-investment agenda. To support the development of the NSS gateways, my Department in conjunction with Forfás, has commissioned a major report, now nearing completion, on their potential for accelerated development in housing, commercial and employment terms and the key infrastructure priorities that will be necessary to facilitate such development. Similar work is also being undertaken in relation to the hubs identified in the NSS. Work on a feasibility study to further develop the concept of an Atlantic gateways corridor, with enhanced linkages and networking between Cork, Galway, Limerick-Shannon and Waterford, is also nearing completion.

My Department, in co-operation with other relevant Departments, is also pursuing measures to enhance co-operation on spatial planning and infrastructural investment across the island of Ireland, as endorsed by the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. In conjunction with the Department of Regional Development in Northern Ireland, a framework is being developed for collaborative action between the NSS and the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland, thus creating conditions that will facilitate enhanced competitiveness on the island as a whole.

I am satisfied the national spatial strategy provides a strategic planning framework which is of sufficient robustness and flexibility to cater for changing circumstances, including the most recent CSO national population estimates which suggest a population of up to 5 million by 2020. It is not proposed to review the strategy at this stage.

See this speech in context