Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 99: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if he will provide the most up to date information on the status of the National Spatial Strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16630/06]

Dick Roche (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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At national level substantial progress is being made in implementing the National Spatial Strategy (NSS), which is having an increasing influence on policies and programmes across a range of Government Departments and agencies.

At regional level, a key policy bridge between national development priorities and local planning has been put in place with the adoption of Regional Planning Guidelines to provide a strategic framework for local planning.

At county and city level, strategic land use and planning frameworks for a number of Gateways are in place, with work well advanced on others.

The potential impact of the Strategy in terms of achieving more balanced regional development has been underscored by the Government's decision in July 2005 that the regional dimension of the next National Development Plan, now in preparation, will be broadly based on the NSS. The priorities of the NSS and regional planning guidelines have also been recognised in the Government's 10-year investment plan for transport, Transport 21.

To support the development of the NSS Gateways, my Department in conjunction with Forfás, commissioned a major report, which has now been completed, on 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 further develop the concept of an Atlantic Gateways corridor, with enhanced linkages and networking between Cork, Galway, Limerick/Shannon and Waterford is also nearing completion.

Draft Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Development Plans, which I have just published for public consultation, emphasise the importance within such plans of creating a clear strategic framework for the proper planning and sustainable development of the relevant area consistent with the longer-term aims set out in the National Spatial Strategy and regional planning guidelines. Comments on the Draft Guidelines will be accepted from all interested individuals and organisations up to 21 July 2006. All submissions received will be taken into consideration in finalising the Guidelines in the Autumn.

My Department, in cooperation with other relevant Departments, is also pursuing measures to enhance cooperation on spatial planning and infrastructural investment across the island of Ireland, as endorsed by the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. As announced following a meeting of the Conference on 2 May, my Department, working in conjunction with the Department of Regional Development in Northern Ireland, is to prepare a framework for collaborative action between the NSS and the Regional Development Strategy for Northern Ireland to assist in creating conditions that will facilitate enhanced competitiveness on the island.