Written answers

Tuesday, 29 November 2005

Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government

National Spatial Strategy

9:00 pm

Photo of Michael RingMichael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the progress to date in 2005 on the national spatial strategy; if he intends to make changes to the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36633/05]

Photo of Dick RocheDick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The national spatial strategy, NSS, is a 20-year strategic planning framework, published in 2002, aimed at achieving more balanced regional development. Substantial progress has been made at national level in implementing the strategy which is having an increasing influence on policies and programmes across a number of Departments and agencies such as the Department of Finance, Department of Transport, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the development agencies. At regional level, a key policy bridge between national development priorities and local planning has been put in place with the adoption in mid-2004 of regional planning guidelines, RPG's.

At county and city level, strategic land use and planning strategies for the Cork, Waterford and Sligo gateways are in place, while the Limerick and Galway strategies have been prepared and are awaiting adoption. Other strategies for gateways are in preparation and are expected to be put in place over the course of 2006.

Some practical examples of implementation progress to date include the incorporation of a requirement in capital envelope agreements between Department of Finance and spending Departments that Departments must demonstrate how investments are being prioritised to implement the NSS; the Government's decision in July 2005 that the regional dimension of the next national development plan, which is now in preparation, will be broadly based on the NSS; the recognition of the priorities of the NSS and regional planning guidelines in the ten-year investment plan for transport, Transport 21, recently published by the Government; the €90 million investment in the Mallow-Cork-Midleton commuter rail system now being implemented in accordance with the development framework set out in the Cork area strategic plan and which will support a new 20,000 home development corridor for Cork over the next 15 years; the objectives incorporated in the development plans for Dublin City, Fingal, South Dublin and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown to promote a substantial increase in housing output in the Dublin metropolitan area and to thus reduce urban sprawl and long distance commuting — a key objective of the NSS; and in Sligo, a series of private sector hotel, leisure, retail and commercial developments, totalling around €200 million in value, have all commenced since its designation as a gateway.

Key ongoing and future work in implementing the NSS includes ensuring that the strategy continues to inform the macro-investment agenda. This will continue to require a concerted effort, co-ordinated across Departments and their agencies, regional and local authorities, with a particular focus on driving the accelerated development of the gateways with the support of the necessary investment, particularly in the new NDP period. To support the development of the NSS gateways a major study has been undertaken of their potential for accelerated development in housing, commercial and employment terms and the key infrastructure priorities that will be necessary to facilitate such development. Similar work is also being undertaken in relation to the hubs identified in the NSS. Work on a feasibility study to develop further the concept of an Atlantic gateways corridor, with enhanced linkages and networking between Cork, Galway, Limerick-Shannon and Waterford is also nearing completion. Considerable attention is also being given to the cross-Border aspects of the implementation of the NSS in conjunction with the Department of Regional Development in Northern Ireland, with particular emphasis on the linked gateway of Derry-Letterkenny and cross-Border elements of the regional planning guidelines for the Border region. Proposals are also being developed to put 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 which suggest a national population of up to 5 million by 2020.

The above processes appropriately apply the national spatial strategy to regional and local requirements and to newly emerging circumstances and opportunities. There are no proposals to make changes to the strategy.

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