To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail any mechanisms that her Department uses to ensure that the cumulative transport requirements, arising from multiple adjacent residential developments, are assessed collectively, rather than solely through individual developer transport assessments.

As a statutory consultee, my Department provides specialist road safety information and transportation advice to the relevant local council Planning Authority on road related matters associated with proposed development applications. In doing so, officials take account of current planning policy, development plans and supplementary planning guidance before making a recommendation to the Planning Authority.

It is for the applicant to provide sufficient information to demonstrate that a proposal complies with relevant policy, design standards, and other guidance in relation to of layout, parking and traffic impact. Where a Transport Assessment is required, my officials review the information submitted and, where appropriate, assess the impact of committed developments in the locality. These are developments which are proposed or approved and which have reasonable certainty of proceeding and therefore may add traffic to the same transport network.

Where a number of developments are proposed in close proximity, cumulative transport impacts may be best considered at the earliest stage, including through the development plan process where sites or areas are being zoned. In such circumstances, the Planning Authority may work with my Department to ensure that the combined transport implications of the wider area are properly assessed, rather than considering each proposal in isolation.