Plan to overhaul the National Spatial Strategy is the right one – Bannon

Fine Gael Deputy for Longford/Westemath, James Bannon, today (Wednesday) called for a review of the National Spatial Strategy. Deputy Bannon was speaking at the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

“The original NSS strategy was introduced in 2022 under Fianna Fai. It was given over ten years to make an impact and failed to do so. We are currently dealing with a housing shortage and guidelines are needed to promote development in town centres across the country,

“The NSS was another boom-time policy introduced and not executed by Fianna Fail. This strategy was designed during a different era, against a backdrop of an overinflated property bubble. Times have changed and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Phil Hogan TD, has rightly expressed his intention to start from scratch.

“Three experts with extensive experience of spatial planning and economic and social development have delivered a report on a successor to the current NSS.

“This report will form the basis of proposals set to come before the Government and will establish a roadmap to develop a successor to the NSS that will take account of, among other things, our significantly changed economic circumstances. The new strategy is expected to be in place by 2015.

“The need for this new NSS can be seen in every part of the country and when it is introduced it will contribute substantially to a sustainable national recovery.”