Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 1392: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the reason local authorities can not require the transfer of school sites to local authorities gratis in the same way that open space and public roads and footpaths must be so transferred; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2240/08]

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Question 1406: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on bringing forward amending legislation to oblige developers to make a financial contribution towards the cost of school extensions arising directly from new housing schemes built within school catchment areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2490/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1392 and 1406 together.

Under the Planning and Development Act 2000, the development plan must set out an overall strategy for the proper planning and sustainable development of the area concerned. To guide local authorities in the preparation of these plans and in addressing key issues, my Department published Development Plan Guidelines for Planning Authorities in June 2007, emphasising that mandatory development objectives in the plan must include objectives for the provision, or facilitation of the provision, of services for the community including, in particular, schools, crèches and other education and child care facilities. The Guidelines take more significant and inclusive account of school planning, addressing the critical inter-relationship between land use and schools, and set the context for forward planning and engagement by local authorities with the Department of Education and Science.

The Guidelines create a clear linkage between the objective for the provision of schools with the current guidelines used by the Department of Education and Science in relation to school accommodation. Planning authorities are advised to secure the maximum degree of co-ordination with the Department of Education and Science in relation to school requirements and their future provision before land is zoned or re-zoned for substantial residential development. In this context my Department is working with the Department of Education and Science and the County and City Managers' Association to develop a new protocol to ensure the timely acquisition of school sites in newly developing and fast growth areas. This is one of a range of procedural initiatives being undertaken by my Department and the Department of Education and Science to strategically plan for and co-ordinate the delivery of schools in tandem with new development. The need for any necessary legislative changes to underpin this work is also being considered.