Léim ar aghaidh chuig an bpríomhábhar
Gnáthamharc

Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 May 2003

Vol. 567 No. 1

Written Answers. - Planning Guidelines.

Seán Crowe

Ceist:

405 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government if his Department has had any talks with representatives of a company (details supplied), received any representations from them either by telephone, fax or e-mail or had any contact with the organisation in any form since he was appointed; and if so, the form these contacts took. [13621/03]

When the retail planning guidelines were published at end 2000, it was indicated that they would be reviewed following experience with their operation. I have been considering the activation of such a review in the light of discussions at Government level on maintaining the competitiveness of the Irish economy, and have also conveyed this position in a recent meeting with RGDATA.

In view of an indication that the company referred to had expressed an interest in entering the Irish market, I and officials of my Department took the opportunity – during the course of a visit to Scotland last February to my housing and planning counterpart, the Scottish Minister for Social Justice – to visit one of the stores operated by this company, accompanied by some of its senior managers.

I subsequently received a letter dated 20 February 2003 from the company's UK property manager, which again stated the company's interest in setting up a store in Ireland. I replied by way of a letter, dated 17 April 2003, which conveyed that I was in the course of putting arrangements in place for a review of the retail planning guidelines. The letter stated that the review of the guidelines would have regard to current and prospective economic and employment conditions in Ireland, as well as to competition and land use issues, and that there would be opportunity to make submissions in this regard in due course. I received a further letter from the company dated 12 May 2003 which acknowledged receipt of my letter.
Barr
Roinn