Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I intended to ask the exact same question as Senator White. Will all areas that have been previously zoned have to be revisited in every plan? I was of the opinion that once a decision was made on a zoning that it would remain in force. Does it mean that when councillors adopted a plan they would have to go through the plan again and reconsider all zonings?

On the increase in population from 2,000 to 5,000, Senator Coffey made the point that there is a hierarchy of towns. We discussed that issue on Second Stage and in earlier sections on Committee Stage. Unlike previous Bills, this one contains a reference to a hierarchy of towns. It takes into account the national spatial strategy and gives priority to gateway towns, hub towns and smaller towns and villages. It has been decided to increase the population requirement from 2,000 to 5,000 for areas in which a local area plan can be made. The Minister specifically outlined that development plans must take into account the national spatial strategy and that gateways, hubs and other urban centres must reach a certain level of population before development can take place. That will hinder development in smaller urban centres, as all of the investment will be made in gateway towns and hub towns at the expense of smaller towns. I refer to towns with a population of between 2,000 and 5,000. When the population increases to 5,000 there is an obligation on a local authority to put a plan in place. That will affect large urban areas more than rural counties such as Mayo.

I wish to ask the Minister of State about hub towns. In my county, Castlebar and Ballina are hub towns. Claremorris has a population of less than 5,000 and it is equidistant between Castlebar and Tuam, which is also a hub town. The Minister indicated in the context of the Mayo county development plan that councillors there did not adhere to the national spatial strategy on hub towns. The reference was to Castlebar and Ballina and there was no reference to Tuam. I seek clarification on hub towns that are in other local authority areas but that are within striking distance of towns, which under this plan will probably be required to put local area plans in place. In some cases those towns will have a population of approximately 5,000.

I am still not happy with how area development plans will be carried out. The Minister of State indicated the Bill will not take any power away from local authority members in terms of designing plans. Senator Ellis said development plans in Leitrim were drawn up for all towns and villages. We did that in my county also. Funding will be geared towards gateways and hubs for water, sewerage and waste water. There will not be an onus on county managers to draw up plans for smaller areas. That is where we will lose out. There will be nothing in the legislation to say we must put a plan in place for a town with a population of less than 5,000. It can be done if need be, but there is no compulsion. There will not be any rush with such plans. That is one of the big problems I have with the proposed hierarchy of towns. There are some lovely small towns. For example, great work could be done in Louisburgh in west Mayo by local authorities but there would not be any onus on the county manager to bring forward a plan for it and it would probably lose out under the proposals by the Minister, Deputy Gormley, whereby a town such as Castlebar would be allowed to grow to the detriment of Louisburgh. That is the reality of what is proposed in the Bill.