Vol. 465 No. 2
45 Kathleen Lynch asked the Minister for the Environment the plans, if any, he has to formulate and implement a national land use policy which would designate the areas for planned growth and the areas where such growth should be controlled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9291/96]
Under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Acts, the determination of policy of the kind referred to in the question is a matter for local planning authorities through the development plan process. While I have no proposals to change that basic position, I have already indicted that my Department is preparing a series of guidelines on land use policy issues for the guidance of planning authorities. Draft guidelines on windfarms and telecommunications masts have already been published, and work is under way on draft guidelines of forestry development and high amenity landscapes, as well as on the scope and content of development plans.
