Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 614: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his plans to provide for the non-housing elements of the National Spatial Strategy as identified in page 103 of that document; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30313/05]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Page 103 of the National Spatial Strategy deals with housing location considerations. It sets out principles to be considered in ensuring the sustainable provision of housing and is an input to housing strategies and the development plans of planning authorities.

It is a matter for each planning authority to ensure that provision is made in its area for an adequate supply of land for residential development in line with the assessment of needs in the housing strategy. Ensuring such supply requires, inter alia, the strategic reservation of land by planning authorities through the development plan process, coupled with timely and sequential release of land. The identification of the location of such lands is a matter for the relevant planning authority.

It is best practice in identifying land for development and in deciding on the nature and scale of development envisaged under development plans to give careful consideration to the future availability of, or the capacity to provide the non-housing elements of such development, including infrastructural services and supporting infrastructure, such as the appropriate community facilities, health-care, schools, public open space, retail and other service provision and public transport. Account should be taken of the extent to which these are available or whether there is a reasonable expectation that they can be delivered in a timely manner to support residential development on lands identified for such development.

It is also important that in identifying lands for development planning authorities should take account of national and local investment programmes in so far as these may be relevant to the area concerned. To this end, planning authorities are required in drafting development plans to consult with the providers of energy, telecommunications, transport and any other relevant infrastructure and of education, health, policing and other services in order to ascertain any long-term plans for the provision of infrastructure and services in the area of the planning authority. Providers are required to furnish the necessary information to the planning authority.

Account should also taken by planning authorities of the capacity of development contributions to recoup some of the costs to public funds of servicing land for private development. Development contributions collected by planning authorities are ring-fenced to pay for facilities benefitting new development, for example, roads, water, sewerage services and amenities. All planning authorities have adopted development contribution schemes which set out how the schemes apply in their areas and these schemes apply to all permissions granted after the adoption of the scheme.