Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 229: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to amend the strategic planning guideline model. [14186/11]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to ensure more co-ordinated development and planning that supports local communities instead of the current system, which favours developer-led planning. [14197/11]

Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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Question 241: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government when he will introduce a mechanism to require all local authorities to develop a transport plan in conjunction with their county or city development plans and local areas plans. [14198/11]

Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 229, 240 and 241 together.

The regional planning guidelines 2010-2022, adopted during 2010 by each of the regional authorities, are in the first year of their 12-year life-span and, as a key implementation mechanism for the national spatial strategy, the RPGs provide a long-term strategic and sustainable planning framework for each region. The coherence and consistency between the national and regional strategic planning frameworks, the delivery of which is underpinned by development plans and local area plans at the local level, are central to enhancing our competitiveness and economic recovery and to the promotion of development which is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. The NSS update and outlook report , published in October 2010, re-affirms the importance of implementing long-term planning frameworks such as the NSS and outlines new priorities and objectives, taking account of experience since its inception in 2002 and the changed environmental, budgetary and economic challenges.

In addition, the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 introduced a number of reforms to the development plan process to provide for greater consistency of plans at regional, city/county and local area levels, to require a core strategy to be incorporated into development plans and to reinforce the practice of developing evidence-based policy objectives into future development plans. These new provisions are currently being reflected and implemented in new development plans and in variations to existing plans.

Within the above policy context, my Department is currently examining, inter alia, the specific commitments in the programme for Government regarding better co-ordination of national, regional and local planning laws to achieve better and more coordinated development that supports local communities, and the development by local authorities of transport plans in conjunction with their development plans and local area plans, with a view to further progressing matters as necessary over the term of the Government.