Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

There have been various Government statements on planning policy and national roads over the past number of years, going back to the Development Control Advice and Guidelines issued in 1982 and the more comprehensive statement in 1985, Policy and Planning Framework for Roads, by the then Department of the Environment. Policy statements made since then have been broadly based on the 1985 document, the most recent being the National Roads Authority's Policy Statement on Development Management and Access to National Roads in May 2006. While specific responsibility for roads policy now rests with the Minister for Transport and his Department, responsibility for planning policy rests with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and it is important there is continued and consistent alignment between these closely linked policies.

In this collaborative context, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Transport have agreed to review the relationship between transport and planning policies and, in particular, the need for both sets of policies to be consistent and complementary. Consequently, they are preparing to publish for public consultation guidelines on planning policy and roads which will have statutory effect under section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 when they are finalised, following consideration of any submissions and comments received. Led by the two Departments and the NRA, a working group was established to co-ordinate the process, comprising key stakeholders and including representative senior officials from local authorities with both an urban and rural planning perspective.

The preparation of these guidelines is designed to encourage, in line with international best practice, efficient transport planning which will underpin a shift towards more sustainable forms of travel and transport. The guidelines will seek to guide development to the most appropriate locations by ensuring transport and land use planning considerations are taken into account at the development plan stage. Appropriate and effective alignment of this kind plays an important part in protecting the State's investment in national roads and facilitating reasonable development proposals that meet road design and safety criteria and that otherwise accord with proper planning and sustainable development.

The Roads Act 1993 sets out how public roads are classified into national, regional and local roads. National roads are generally arterial routes that cater for strategic and through traffic and which carry high traffic volumes that operate at high speeds. National roads are classified as either national primary or national secondary and this classification system operates as an aid to the management of roads consistent with the particular functions appropriate to roads of different classes. The guidelines highlight the need for early engagement and dialogue between the NRA and planning authorities in respect of devising appropriate policies and objectives for managing development within the broader context of the national road network and functions, having regard to these aforementioned road classifications. It is about agreeing a sustainable and plan-led approach between the NRA and planning authorities and the implementation of appropriate development management standards, for example, by subjecting new development proposals to road safety audits and other policy considerations.

However, as the guidelines will indicate, it is not simply a matter of differentiating between national primary and secondary roads for the purposes of facilitating planning approvals on national secondary roads. National secondary roads must be considered in the overall context of the national road system in that they may provide now or in the future a strategic function along all or part of their routes, and planning authorities need to ensure that substantial public investment in our national transport infrastructure is not eroded by a lack of overall plan-led development.

The Minister expects to publish the guidelines shortly as a public consultation draft. I urge all stakeholders, including Members of the Seanad, local authorities, chambers of commerce, business groups and others who are interested in this issue to examine these draft guidelines when they issue. The Minister would welcome their comments before the guidelines are finalised later in the year. This is an issue that puts people's lives on hold to a certain extent. It is important to bring clarity to it once and for all when it is put into legislation later this year.