Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

The fact I noticed straight away about the document is that it continues the theme, used some time ago, of putting people first. I welcome that. After people come places and then potential. The requirement for a spatial strategy is a clear indication that the policies pursued over the last number of years have succeeded and the growth in the main urban areas, while not without drawbacks, is preferable to the dark days of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s when urban decay was rampant and the unemployment rate at its highest. Again showing foresight, the previous Government, while framing the national development plan in 1999, recognised that strategic planning was required if any progress was to be achieved on the issues raised every day at advice centres and doors throughout the country, such as traffic congestion, housing and environmental issues in urban areas, depopulation, lack of employment opportunities and falling farm incomes in rural areas.

The national spatial strategy is a 20-year programme to enable every place, rural and urban, reach its potential, no matter what its size or location. It recognises that regions have different roles and requirements. It seeks to organise and co-ordinate these roles and needs in a complementary way. It is about making regions competitive according to their strengths, not one against another. It is about ensuring a high quality urban environment as well as vibrant rural areas.

The strategy defines the characteristics of successful areas such as Dublin and Cork and other major cities and, at the same time, recognises the imbalances which have to be overcome. It also recognises that strong towns and cities are an essential element of the success of the regions and that we must build on these strengths in order to develop the country as a whole in an efficient and holistic way.