Gerry Adams
Question:183. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans for the future development of the gateway and hubs structure. [30965/13]
View answerWednesday, 26 June 2013
Questions (183, 184, 185, 186, 187)
Gerry Adams
Question:184. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the funding provided for the future development of the gateway and hubs structure since 2011. [30966/13]
View answerGerry Adams
Question:185. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to provide future funding for the development of the gateway and hubs structure. [30967/13]
View answerGerry Adams
Question:186. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to provide funding for the Dundalk gateway project. [30968/13]
View answerGerry Adams
Question:187. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government his views on the conclusion of the Dundalk gateway Report of May 2013 carried out by the BMW Regional Assembly that there has been a decline in development and infrastructure funding for the Dundalk gateway and that this is impacting on economic activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30969/13]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 183 to 187, inclusive, together.
The 2002 National Spatial Strategy (NSS) is Ireland’s first national strategic spatial planning framework. It provides the spatial vision and principles to achieve a better balance of social, economic and physical development and population growth between regions through the co-ordinated development of nine gateway cities and towns and nine hub towns together with complementary policies to activate the potential for sustainable economic development in their hinterlands and wider regions. The NSS serves as a strategic context for spatial planning in Ireland by regional authorities in their regional planning guidelines role and for planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála in their statutory planning functions. It also seeks to influence investment priorities particularly in transport, housing, water services, communications, energy, health and education infrastructure.
The 2002 NSS remains in place. However, proposals will be brought to Government later this year for a roadmap to develop a successor strategy that will take account, inter alia, of our significantly changed economic circumstances and to contribute to sustainable national recovery.
The NSS has supported alignment and prioritisation of sectoral infrastructural investment, notwithstanding the absence of any discrete funding stream for the NSS Gateways and Hubs. The possibility of establishing such a funding stream under the NSS remains a significant challenge in light of current budgetary constraints although it remains a matter for consideration in the context of the development of a successor NSS.
The Gateways and Hubs Development Index (GHDI) 2012 published by the Border, Midlands & Western Regional Assembly, and the Southern & Eastern Regional Assembly, in May 2013, represents an examination of Ireland’s key urban centres, including the Dundalk Gateway, across a range of performance indicators. The Index provides a unique opportunity to observe and understand how Gateways and Hubs are developing including in times of economic challenge. The findings of the Index will provide a valuable resource for policy-making for Government Departments, Local and Regional Authorities and other major State agencies particularly in the context of the preparation of a successor to the NSS.