4th November

Needs of children - planning authorities

Mr. Cuffe: Will the needs of children be recognised in his preparation of a new guidance manual for planning authorities [27588/04]

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (Mr. Roche): New Development Management Guidelines (review of the Development Control guidelines, 1982), which are at an advanced stage of preparation by my Department, are intended to give advice to planning authorities, planning practitioners and the general public on various areas of planning control and development management. The Guidelines deal with the best ways to handle planning applications and other planning control issues, and will not deal with issues relating to any particular section of society.

The needs of children are provided for in the planning context by the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Childcare Facilities and by the Planning and Development Act, 2000.

The Childcare Guidelines were published by my Department in July 2001 and are designed to assist planning authorities in making suitable provision for childcare facilities in their development plans and to ensure a consistency of approach throughout the country to the treatment of planning applications. Among other things, the Guidelines state that a standard, in relation to new housing areas, of one childcare facility with a minimum of 20 childcare places for approximately 75 dwellings may be appropriate.

The Planning and Development Act 2000 provides that planning authorities include objectives in their development plans for the provision, or faciltation of the provision, of services for the community including schools, crèches and other education and childcare facilities.

My Department is currently finalising Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Development Plans, which will be published in draft form for public consultation in the near future. The guidelines will aim to improve the standard and consistency of development plans and thereby improve the quality and consistency of decisions taken on the basis of those plans.

The Guidelines will refer, inter alia, to the mandatory objectives which planning authorities must include in the development plan in relation to community services including schools, creches and other education and childcare facilities. The guidelines will also refer to other community facilities, including facilities for children's play - playgrounds, skateboard parks and other such facilities. The guidelines will indicate to planning authorities that they must respond to the circumstances of their own communities when formulating development plans.

Under section 48 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, planning authorities may levy development contributions on developers to fund the provision of community facilties, including playgrounds.

My Department also assists the National Children’s Office to administer the Playgrounds Grants Scheme which aim is to increase the range of public play opportunities available to children. The scheme will provide funding for the provision of new playgrounds or refurbishment of existing playgrounds. An additional sum of €2million capital was made available this year in my Department’s budget for play facilities, to coincide with the launch of the National Play Policy in March 2004.

Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060 or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email  Ciaran CiaranCuffe.com