Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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861. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if the 2011 consultation document on spatial strategies on the island of Ireland being prepared by his Department and the Department of Regional Development in the North has been concluded; and if so, what aspects of the spatial strategy have been delivered. [1032/16]

Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael)
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The Framework for Co-operation: Spatial Strategies of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Irelandwas jointly published by the Department for Regional Development (Northern Ireland) and my Department in June 2013 and is available to download at the following link:

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Implementation of the Framework is an ongoing matter for both Departments with regard to matters such as data collection and analysis for input to each jurisdiction’s planning processes, implementation of relevant EU Directives that have cross-border implications for example in the water quality and environmental impact assessment areas and support for local planning initiatives such as the North West Gateway Initiative where local authorities in Donegal and Derry/Strabane have agreed joint approaches to strategic development.

Furthermore, I would anticipate that the development of a new National Planning Framework to succeed the National Spatial Strategy will continue the process of close co-operation with the planning process in Northern Ireland so that the overall island benefits from a planned and sustainable approach to development in general.