Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 396: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government his views on the report and recommendations submitted to his Department by the Dublin Bay Task Force and Dublin Regional Authority in 2009; when he will respond to the Dublin Bay Task Force and the Dublin Regional Authority; his plans to instruct the Dublin Regional Authority to develop a master plan for Dublin Bay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9923/10]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The Dublin Regional Authority (DRA) established the Dublin Bay Task Force, at my request, to provide a forum for stakeholders to engage in order to prepare a Master Plan for the bay and to make recommendations on integrated coastal zone management.

The DRA was chosen to lead the Task Force due to its co-ordinating and cross-cutting role and the fact that Dublin Bay falls within the jurisdiction of three local authorities, all of which are represented on the task force.

To date, the Task Force has held a series of meetings, some of which were open to the public, conducted several public consultation seminars and carried out a significant amount of background research. The work that the Task Force has carried out has informed the development of the draft Regional Planning Guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area 2010-2022, currently on Public Display; the draft guidelines contain several recommendations concerning integrated coastal zone management in the Dublin Bay area. The relevant local authorities will take the necessary steps to reflect the RPG objectives in their Development Plans following adoption of the RPGs in the middle of this year.

My Department will engage with the Director of the DRA to discuss what further steps might usefully be taken to progress other relevant recommendations of the Dublin Bay Taskforce in light of the above developments.