Conor Murphy (Sinn Féin)

I intend to hold consultation events in each of the 11 new council areas. Such events proved productive during the early stages of the review last year. I propose to use a number of ways to maximise participation. The events will be advertised in daily and weekly newspapers and on my Department’s website. All those who attended the pre-consultation workshops and for whom we have addresses will be personally invited.

I intend to ask members of the external working group, which was formed to help to ensure that the work on the review and the strategy was carried out in a robust and open manner, to target those they represent. That should capture representatives from NGOs, businesses, local government, house builders, academia, the planning profession and cross-border groups.

Personal invitations will also be sent to individuals and organisations on my Department’s consultation list, which includes the Equality Commission; the Community Relations Council; voluntary, community and trade union groups; and organisations representing the various categories included in section 75. All MLAs and local councillors will also be included.

I have asked my officials to ensure that venues are accessible and that timings do not exclude anyone from participating.

Conor Murphy (Sinn Féin)

We will obviously work in conjunction with all the Departments. The review of the regional development strategy is an Executive document that is being carried forward by the Department for Regional Development. The redrafting of that document requires us to work with each and every Department. There is a particularly close working relationship between DRD and DOE in developing proposals for new key roles and responsibilities for central government with regard to regional planning. Hence, we have worked with all Government Departments but particularly closely with the DOE, given the overlap between it and my Department.

Naomi Long (Alliance)

What discussions have there been between DRD and DOE about the planning reform process, particularly in ensuring coherence between the local development plans and the overriding, Northern Ireland-wide regional development strategy?

Conor Murphy (Sinn Féin)

As I said, a key part of the review of the strategy is to make sure that it works properly. There are a number of issues in the melting pot in relation to that. There is the review of planning itself, but there is also the change in how planning will be processed through the new local government structures. Therefore, we have had to work particularly closely with DOE to ensure that the regional development strategy that we are revising fits in with all of that. I had meetings with Sammy Wilson when he was Minister of the Environment; I believe that I recall meeting Arlene Foster when she was the Minister; and I look forward to continuing that discussion with the new Environment Minister.

Alasdair McDonnell (Social Democratic and Labour Party)

I thank the Minister for his answers. Does he agree with me that regional development for border areas is a cross-border issue? Will he outline what in-depth discussions have taken place with the Irish Government about regional development in areas that overlap the border?

Conor Murphy (Sinn Féin)

Of course that is key to our development. For a number of reasons, I felt that the ‘Shaping Our Future’ document produced in 2000-02 was out of date. Some of them were environmental issues that had increasingly come to the fore and needed to be addressed, but a key issue was that the all-Ireland dimension of the working institutions needed to be reflected more. Therefore, a number of people whose organisations have a cross-border element are included in the working group to deal with the matter.

The Member will know that we have been working on spatial planning, not just with the Department with which I regularly liaise in the North/South Ministerial Council meetings but with the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in the South, which is headed by John Gormley. We have launched not only an all-Ireland spatial planning process but specific processes with respect to Newry/Dundalk and the north-west. Although those are key elements, there has been insufficient recognition of the cross-border potential of the regional development strategy, so we will work with the new local councils — a substantial number of which will be in border areas — to ensure that they are also able to develop those relationships.