Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 74: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the action taken to implement the commitment given in the programme for Government to ensure that provision for community and recreational facilities are prioritised by local authorities when structuring their development plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35139/07]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I refer to the replies to Question No. 145 of 10 October 2007 and Question No. 284 of 7 November 2007.

The adoption of development plans and local area plans is a reserved function of elected members. The Planning and Development Act 2000 sets out the steps that must be followed by the Council, the requirements for consultation with the public and key stakeholders, including the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, during the drafting stages and the mandatory and discretionary objectives that must be reflected in the plan. Similar procedures are also set down in legislation regarding variations to development plans.

Section 10(2)(d) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 requires a development plan to include objectives for "the integration of the planning and sustainable development of the area with the social, community and cultural requirements of the area and its population." This objective allows for linkage to be made between the development plan and the County Development Board's strategy and brings the socio-economic and physical planning processes closer together. The land use policies of the development plan should be informed by, and reflect, the socio-economic and cultural considerations of the CDB strategy.

Similarly, section 10(2)(l) of the Act requires a development plan to include objectives for "the provision, or facilitation of the provision, of services for the community including, in particular, schools, crèches and other education and childcare facilities." Community facilities falling within this mandatory objective can include places of worship, hospital and health centres, facilities for the elderly and persons with disabilities, facilities for children's play including playgrounds, skateboard parks and other facilities, libraries and community halls. Planning authorities must respond to the circumstances of their own local communities when formulating their development plans, and identify the appropriate community and recreational facilities along with public open space requirements. Generally, appropriate policies and objectives for inclusion in plans will relate to allocation and reservation of land, setting appropriate development control standards and indicating provision of specific facilities. Development contributions can also be sought by planning authorities to help pay for facilities servicing new developments such as community and other recreational amenities.

My Department is addressing this issue on a number of fronts. Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Development Plans, published in June 2007, emphasise the objectives for the provision of public open space and recreation space, including space and places for children to play, and the preservation, improvement and extension of amenities and recreational amenities. Moreover, my Department is currently finalising new guidelines on sustainable residential development to issue shortly for public consultation. These new guidelines will replace the existing 1999 Residential Density Guidelines and will provide greater detail on how quality recreational facilities should be fully integrated into new residential developments.

Underpinning these new guidelines and the overall emphasis on quality community and recreational facilities in forward planning is the Government's housing policy statement Delivering Homes, Sustaining Communities published earlier in 2007. Its vision for creating sustainable communities will guide the transformation of the Irish housing sector over the next ten years, by delivering more and better quality housing responses, and by doing this in a more strategic way.