Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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523. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government to set out his plans to develop economic regions within the island of Ireland; the amount of money put aside for this and the direct economic benefit to the State for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17207/15]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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Under the Government’s Action Programme for Effective Local Government – Putting People First, the regional dimension to local government in relation to economic development has been considerably enhanced and reconfigured through the establishment of the new Northern and Western, Southern, and Eastern and Midland Regional Assemblies which will have a number of important new functions including, inter alia, the formulation and adoption of Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies.

The new strategies will replace the current Regional Planning Guidelines which expire in 2016 and will have a 12 year lifespan from 2016 to 2028.

The Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies will support implementation of national spatial policies and the economic policies and objectives of the Government, including the Action Plan for Jobs, by enhancing co-ordination of planning and economic development functions of relevant Government departments and agencies and the local government sector, including the new Local Economic and Community Plans.

The new strategies will, within the Government’s overall macro-economic and budgetary framework, serve to co-ordinate policy development, promotional and capital investment programmes of relevant government departments and agencies, including those engaged in enterprise development and with an EU co-finance dimension, with local government and the activities of the private sector and local communities, in order to ensure the optimal development of the country, nationally, regionally and locally.

From an island perspective, the new strategies will also take account of the Regional Development Strategy in Northern Ireland, given the many environmental, social and economic ties between Ireland and Northern Ireland that are relevant to spatial planning and economic development matters.

I am currently finalising arrangements to support the development of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategies in tandem with advancing the preparation of the National Planning Framework, later this year.