Minister Simon Coveney said he believes Waterford is set to expand dramatically over the next 20 years.
The Housing and Planning minister was in the city today to launch the Southern Regional Consultation on Ireland 2040.
The plan aims to look two decades into the future to secure proper planning and development in the regions.
The Minister said growth needed to be encouraged in cities like Waterford, "this is part of putting together a new national plan for 2040.
I think the opportunities for cities like Waterford, for Cork, for Limerick, for Galway and for many other towns in the country are very exciting from this plan.
If we don't plan a new cities strategy for Ireland - we're going to see the continued unsustainable growth of Dublin.
We're going to see the extra million people or so that are going to be added to our population doughnuting around the capital city - which is what has happened for the last 20 years.
