‘Many decisions fly in the face’ of spatial strategy

THE President of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) yesterday said too many decisions are being made without regard to the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) and the new National Development Plan must echo the NSS’s goals.

Speaking at CCI’s first National Conference on Local Economic Development in Limerick, Robin O’Sullivan said: “We have a National Spatial Strategy - or do we? I have to say that I often doubt it - many decisions, such as the Government’s decentralisation plan, seem to fly in the face of the goals set out in that strategy.”

He said that as the present National Development Plan draws to a close we are now wiser on the issues we face.

“We must drag our infrastructure into the 21st Century. As we move towards a new NDP we need to ensure that it successfully builds upon the NSS and crucially that it delivers for the whole of Ireland.”

Decisions, he said, should be ‘proofed’ against that strategy, thus giving proper recognition to the designated gateways and the other non-Dublin elements of the strategy in particular.

“We believe that this is a vital ingredient in the preparation of the new NDP. We should be in the midst of building on our stated NSS to create critical mass for the other parts of the country and for the benefit of all our citizens.”

The conference examined issues such as identifying the key infrastructure requirements to drive a knowledge-economy in each region.

Delegates also talked on how to secure local economic and enterprise development and who to nurture local populations with innovative skills.

It also addressed clustering, where geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, suppliers, service providers and other institutions are present in a local area and how to create a ‘can do’ culture in local areas.