A decision on whether or not to expand Waterford's boundary should be made in a matter of months.
Speaking in Waterford at the launch of the new National Planning Framework, Minister Simon Coveney said he was launching another round of public consultation on the controversial issue before he would make any decisions.
An independent report recommended expanding Waterford's boundary into South Kilkenny by 20,000 acres.
The proposal is being angrily opposed by politicans in Kilkenny.
Minister Coveney said he was confident of finding a way of allaying Kilkenny's concerns while also managing the expansion of Waterford, "My job will be to try and find a solution that is politically acceptable for people in Kilkenny and Waterford, but can also facilitate the well managed expansion and growth and ambition of Waterford as a city - and we can do both of those things.
What we have at the moment is an independent report that was commissioned actually before I was a Minister in this Department.
When I got it I published it - I know it's caused quite a lot of controversy - particularly for people living in South Kilkenny.
What I said was let's put this report in as part of the national planing framework discussions and let's see what comes out of that."
