Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 July 2020
319. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the criteria used by the regional assemblies to determine core growth towns and villages in each county cited in the development of county development plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17040/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe National Planning Framework (NPF) identified the five cities and five other large towns in Ireland as regional/cross-border drivers, in order to ensure that each Regional Assembly area could further develop the overall NPF framework on a regional basis, by identifying a more detailed growth strategy for each region to be determined taking into account regional conditions. Within this context, the three Regional Assemblies, had significant scope to determine their own settlement strategies, further to the NPF
For example, Chapter 3 (pages 28-41) of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) for the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) area, sets out a very clear and detailed growth strategy for the EMRA region. Table 3.1 of the EMRA RSES in particular, identifies a series of ‘asset-based’ criteria, on which the overall EMRA RSES settlement strategy is based.
In the same way as the NPF enabled greater detail to be determined at Regional Assembly level, the RSESs don’t address every settlement in each Region and enables each County to determine their own settlement strategy within the parameters of the RSES, through the County Development Plan process.
Further to finalisation of the three RSESs by January 2020, all city and county development plans must be reviewed or varied, to ensure consistency with both the NPF, and the relevant RSES. This process is underway and will continue into 2021, overseen by the independent Office of the Planning Regulator. When complete, this will be the first time that there has been an integrated hierarchy of statutory spatial plans, supported by the national public capital investment programme, to shape the future pattern and form of development in Ireland.
