The Border Regional Authority is one of the Republic's most complex regions, and its draft regional planning guidelines cover a diverse area from the western Gaeltacht to Drogheda, a major growth centre bordering the greater Dublin region.
The six counties - Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan and Louth - each have a border with Northern Ireland and the draft strategy includes the potential impact of development in the counties' hinterland inside the Northern Border.
For these reasons, and because it is the Republic's largest region by number of counties, the National Spatial Strategy (NSS)recognises three sub-regions in the Border Region.
These are loosely the Northwest (Donegal) and its hinterland in Northern Ireland; the west, (Sligo Leitrim) and its hinterland in Northern Ireland; and what has become known as the central and east area (Cavan, Monaghan and Louth) and the hinterland of those counties in Northern Ireland.
The three gateways identified by the NSS in the region, Dundalk, Sligo and Letterkenny (linked to Derry), correspond to the sub-regions, with smaller hubs at Monaghan and Cavan.
At local level the draft planning guidelines refer to shared development issues between Sligo and Enniskillen; Cavan and Enniskillen; Monaghan and Armagh; and Newry and Dundalk.
The draft guidelines also recognise the importance of Drogheda as a growth centre in the strategic planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area.
However, the planners have deliberately decided not to concentrate growth exclusively on either the identified growth gateways, or even the gateways and hubs - the latter at Cavan and Monaghan - preferring instead to adopt a scatter-gun approach, and produce a settlement strategy which, it was claimed, would reinforce smaller rural villages.
The settlement strategy is extremely detailed, noting the "regionally significant towns" of Carrick-on-Shannon and Drogheda, as well as 17 towns identified for "urban strengthening, 23 towns for "urban support" and 14 smaller towns and villages which need to be developed in the light of changes to the traditionally agriculture-based economy.
The strategy recommends the facilitation of "permanent residential development" in the Gaeltacht. It also acknowledges the inter-dependency of the west and Derry City and recommends improved road access to Letterkenny.
Key transport corridors include the western road corridor through Sligo, the central corridor through Cavan towards Athlone/Mullingar/Tullamore and the eastern corridor through Dundalk towards Dublin. An east -west corridor is also recommended for development.
The guidelines are currently at public consultation stage until April and may be viewed at www.border.ie
