Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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373. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the sanctions he has imposed on the following local authorities which have failed to comply with the provisions of section 7(b)(ii)(o) of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010, when reviewing their development plans for counties Cork, Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon and Wexford; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26770/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The making and varying of a development plan is a reserved function of the elected members of the planning authority for the area. My Department issued a Circular Letter (PL 09/2012) on 25 October 2012 to all planning authorities reminding them to fulfil their statutory obligations under Section 7 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2010 - which was commenced on 5 October 2012 – in relation to the new mandatory objective in development plans for the preservation of public rights of way. The Circular Letter also outlined that planning authorities should avail of the development plan variation process, as appropriate, where a statutory development plan review is not imminent.

My Department acknowledges the progressive adoption by planning authorities of this new mandatory objective since 2012 and will keep the implementation of this objective under review, including giving consideration to the need for the issuing of any reminders to planning authorities in this regard in light of the approaches adopted in meeting this objective.