Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2016
485. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if a change in status in a county development plan of a settlement from small town to moderate and sustainable growth town without an actual increase in population has an impact on the allocation of funding for roads and other transport projects for that settlement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8325/16]
View answerThe planning of transport projects and services within the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) is a statutory function of the National Transport Authority (NTA) under the Dublin Transport Authority Act 2008. The Authority recently finalised its long term Transport Strategy for the GDA and the report is currently available on the NTA website www.nationaltransport.ie.
The NTA's Transport Strategy and the Regional Planning Guidelines are required under legislation to be consistent with each other. As such, the role of the Transport Strategy is to establish the framework for the transport provision necessary to achieve the land use vision set out in the Regional Planning Guidelines. In that context, any proposed revisions to County Development Plans would have to be consistent with the Regional Planning Guidelines. Planning issues are, of course, a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Environment and Local Government.
In the case of roads, a change in status in a county development plan from small town to moderate and sustainable growth town without a population increase would not have an impact on the allocation of grant funding for regional and local roads. Grant allocations in the main grant categories are based on the length of the road network in a particular area.
