Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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37. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he would consider the expansion of the interdepartmental group work programme on identifying key enablers and barriers to transit-oriented design, as outlined in the Climate Action Plan Annex of Actions, to focus beyond the four Dublin local authorities to the regional cities, in order to consider transit-oriented development as a way to achieve balanced regional development; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20807/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Climate Action Plan 2023 highlights the importance of embedding transport orientated development (TOD) at all stages of planning and development, particularly the siting of services and multi-use development at transport nodes. Transport orientated development is a key policy objective of the Government's Housing for All plan and a working group was established in December 2021 under Action 26.1 of Housing for All to consider opportunities for TOD in major urban centres.

The working group is jointly chaired by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and my Department, and includes representatives from the National Transport Authority and the Land Development Agency. The role of the working group is to consider opportunities for TOD in the five cities designated under the National Planning Framework: Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. The working group will also review opportunities for better integration of land use and transport in regional centres.

While the focus to date has been on the four Dublin local authority areas of Dublin City Council, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Fingal County Council and South Dublin County Council, the group will commence a review of TOD opportunities in the wider eastern region area and in the four regional cities this year. The working group is currently engaging with the local authorities in the eastern region and Cork and Limerick in this regard.