Under the provisions of Part V of the Local Government Act 1991 and the associated regulations, it is open to a local authority to initiate a proposal for the alteration of its boundaries. This involves preparation of a formal boundary alteration proposal by the authority concerned including financial, organisational and other implications; invitation of public submissions; and consultation with the other local authorities affected by the proposal, prior to submitting a formal application to the Minister. While a number of town boundary alterations have been made in recent years, no boundary application from Drogheda Borough Council is currently before my Department.
It should be noted that Drogheda Borough Council, Meath County Council and Louth County Council have jointly commissioned the preparation of an integrated strategic land use and transportation framework for Drogheda and its environs in Louth and Meath which broadly conforms with the national spatial strategy, the Border regional planning guidelines and the regional planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area. As part of the development plan process, housing strategies have been prepared at county level which cover the projected requirements of private, social and affordable housing in each county, taking into account demographic and economic trends. The housing strategy for Louth, therefore, covers the delivery of social and affordable housing by both the county council and Drogheda Borough Council. In addition, these authorities have prepared five-year social and affordable housing action plans for the entire area for the period 2004-08 to maximise the potential arising from the Government's decision to introduce five-year multi-annual capital investment programmes. These are currently under consideration in my Department with a view to agreeing them by the end of the year.
