Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)

The regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area, which implement national spatial strategy principles and policies at regional level, comprise the principal framework for the sustainable development of the greater Dublin area. Their objective is to consolidate the physical and population growth of Dublin within the metropolitan area, and to provide for concentrated development elsewhere in the greater Dublin area at key strategic towns, particularly those along public transport corridors. Significant investment under Transport 21 in improving public transport services and links, together with other targeted national development plan investment, is now being made in support of these recommended guideline objectives to create more sustainable growth patterns in the greater Dublin area.

My Department's housing completion statistics for 2006 show that some consolidation is now occurring, with housing output rising by over 10% last year on 2005 in Dublin city and significant increases also recorded in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. Moreover, my Department's review of the 1999 residential density guidelines, in light of the experiences to date, will further assist planning authorities to deliver higher density and more sustainable communities.

Since the publication of the national spatial strategy I and my predecessors have guided local authorities to ensure that their development plan policies are consistent with the strategy. This has taken the form of formal directions in the case of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Laois, and advisory letters in the case of a number of other counties including Meath and Monaghan. In this regard, there is an onus on all political parties at both national and local level to work towards these objectives. Similarly, in recognising the need to increase residential densities in the existing Dublin metropolitan area I expect general support for the objective. There is little point in political parties advocating an end to urban sprawl at national level if, at the same time, they oppose increased height and density within the built up areas or, as has happened in the counties I have mentioned, they seek to rezone massive areas for speculative development.

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