Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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212. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of his plans to progress the legislative underpinning for a joint urban area plan for Drogheda between Louth and Meath county councils in order for the urban area of Drogheda to develop in line with National Development Plan 2018-2027 objectives; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2475/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Provisions were included in the Local Government Bill 2018 to establish a statutory structure for local authorities to work together to ensure the proper planning and development of certain cross-boundary urban centres that significantly straddle two local authority boundaries.

The proposed legislation would apply to any area defined as an ‘urban area’ lying within the administrative area of more than one local authority that, according to a Census of Population, has a population of between 5,000 and 100,000 and where the population applicable to each of the component local authorities’ amounts to at least 15% of the total or 5,000 persons whichever is lower. Urban centres that would immediately meet these criteria are Athlone, Bray, Carlow, Limerick City, Portarlington, Waterford City and Drogheda.

Legislation to establish Urban Area Committees was approved by Government and included at Committee Stage of the Local Government Bill 2018, however it was defeated in the Seanad. A number of issues of concern were raised during the passage of the Bill including the membership number and structure of the Committees and the need to include adjoining Municipal Districts in the finalisation of a local area plan for an Urban Area Committee.

The provisions initially tabled in the context of the Local Government Bill 2018 have now been updated to take account of those issues previously raised in the Oireachtas and it is hoped to bring forward these provisions to provide for the setting up of Urban Area Committees in the coming months.