Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 30 Sep 2003

Vol. 571 No. 1

Written Answers. - Draft Development Plans.

Ciarán Cuffe

Ceist:

1247 Mr. Cuffe asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if any other city or county manager has appended a notice to a draft development plan which is similar to the notice provided at the front of the Dún Laoghaire draft development plan (details supplied). [19605/03]

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Cullen)

My Department is not aware of any such notice at present other than in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown. The draft development plan referred to was submitted to my Department on 22 April 2003 in accordance with the requirements of the Planning and Development Act 2000. On 29 August 2003 my Department wrote to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council in the following terms:

Having considered the draft development plan for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown for the per iod 2004 to 2010, it appears to the Minister that the draft plan is deficient in that the total quantity of land proposed to be zoned as residential is inadequate to satisfy the requirement of the housing strategy approved by the County Council of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown on 7 April 2003 and that the draft plan therefore does not appear to be in compliance with the provisions of section 95(1)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000. That section requires that "In conjunction with the inclusion of the housing strategy in its development plan, a planning authority shall ensure that sufficient and suitable land is zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, to meet the requirements of the housing strategy and to ensure that a scarcity of such land does not occur at any time during the period of the development plan."

Accordingly, the County Council is requested to consider amending the draft development plan to ensure that sufficient and suitable land is zoned for residential use, or for a mixture of residential and other uses, to meet the requirements of the Council's housing strategy.