John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Development plans prepared by local authorities under Part II of the Planning and Development Act 2000 provide the over-arching strategic framework for development within their areas. It is mandatory for development plans to provide objectives, inter alia, for the integration of the planning and sustainable development of an area with the social, community and cultural requirements of the area and its population.

The plans are also required to provide objectives for community services. Part V of the Act requires, in addition, that planning authorities include in their development plans a housing strategy which must address the housing needs of existing and future population of the area covered by the development plan. Guidelines issued by my Department in 2000 in regard to Part V of the Act state, inter alia: "The strategy should encourage the development of mixed and balanced communities in order to counteract undue social segregation."

In June 2007, my Department published guidelines for planning authorities on development plans. The guidelines recognise the changing demographic and settlement patterns in Ireland in recent years and state that development plans must set a clear vision for development while acknowledging and factoring in the wider economic, social and environmental trends.

The Government's housing policy statement, Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities, sets out a strategy to put the building of sustainable communities at the core of housing policy. The housing policy statement recognises that a sustainable neighbourhood is better able to support the social integration of different income groups and thereby provide a better means for newcomers to integrate and participate fully in Irish society.

I understand from my colleague, the Minister of State with responsibility for integration, that as part of the national action plan against racism, Planning for Diversity, the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism has commissioned the Centre for Housing Research and University College Dublin to carry out the first major scoping study on issues related to housing and intercultural neighbourhoods in Ireland. The research will examine the possible implications of greater ethnic and cultural diversity for housing planning and provision and more specific accommodation issues. To oversee this research, a broadly-based advisory group has been established, which includes my Department, Dublin City Council, the Reception and Integration Agency, the Equality Authority, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Immigrant Council of Ireland, South Dublin County Council and the Vincentian Centre for Refugees. The study is due to be published in January 2008.

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