Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress made to date with regard to implementation of the National Spatial Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16341/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government has put a wide range of measures in place at national, regional and local levels to implement the national spatial strategy, NSS, and achieve its objectives over its 20 year timeframe.

The initial phases of NSS implementation focused on embedding the policy approach of the NSS within key Departments, their agencies and in regional and local authorities. Significant milestones reached during this period included: the adoption by all regional authorities of regional planning guidelines which set the strategic policy agenda for local authority development plans; substantial progress in national development plan capital investment programmes, endorsed by the NSS, to provide major infrastructure such as key road and rail links needed to support the achievement of more balanced regional development; the mid-term review of the national development plan, which signalled strongly the potential for further aligning NDP expenditure with the NSS planning framework, particularly in the environmental infrastructure and regional operational programmes; and planning implementation frameworks now put in place for the gateways of Cork, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Sligo, with work on similar frameworks advancing in other areas.

The proposals announced for substantial investment in new suburban rail services in the Cork area represent a significant example of a direct response from the Government to the strategic planning policies that have been put in place at local level.

Other practical examples of implementation progress include the requirement in agreements between Department of Finance and other relevant Departments on multi-annual capital envelopes that Departments demonstrate how investments are being prioritised to implement the NSS; account is currently being taken of the NSS and regional planning guidelines in the preparation currently of a ten year investment plan for transport. The draft Dublin city development plan proposes a substantial increase in housing output in Dublin city to reduce urban sprawl and long-distance commuting and thus achieve one on the key objectives of the NSS. In Sligo a series of private sector hotel, leisure, retail and commercial development totalling around €200 million in value have commenced since its designation as a gateway. The completion there of the inner relief road will provide further support for Sligo's development as a gateway.

Key priorities in implementing the NSS over the next 12 months will include: putting in place a monitoring framework to report on progress in implementing the NSS, with a special emphasis on up-to-date regional population and housing projections that take account of the latest CSO national population estimates of up to 5 million people by 2020; advancing a detailed study, in conjunction with key Departments, the development agencies and relevant local authorities, of the potential of the NSS gateways for accelerated development in housing, commercial and employment terms, including the identification of the key infrastructure priorities necessary to facilitate such development; intensifying efforts in co-ordinating activities in the areas of housing, environmental and water services infrastructure provision and local roads programmes in my Department to support the objectives of the NSS; and building on bilateral links between my Department and other Departments and agencies to effectively link their strategic and longer term planning of investment to the priorities identified in the NSS and in regional planning guidelines.