The Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, has accused the Green Party of inconsistency in its demand for the suspension of plans for the development of Adamstown, Co Dublin, until the Government guarantees funding for infrastructural development.
The Green Party's Dublin Mid-West TD, Mr Paul Gogarty, said the plan to develop Adamstown as an urban centre the size of Drogheda, next to Lucan, would have to be carefully managed or it would become the State's "biggest traffic jam".
The plan "rubberstamped" on Wednesday by the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Progressive Democrat alliance on South Dublin Council, and "some well-meaning but misinformed" Labour party members, was "grotesque, unbelievable, bizarre and unprecedented". An environmental impact statement at the very least was needed.
Mr Cullen said, however, that he had no powers to suspend the Adamstown designation, and he said the Green Party had not opposed the provisions in the Planning and Development Act for such development when it passed through the Dáil. It was "not now consistent" for Deputy Gogarty to seek to suspend it.
Mr Gogarty raised the issue on the adjournment when he said the local community wanted to be positive about the project rather than saying "not in my backyard". They said instead "deliver it right", but the Government parties, Fine Gael and Labour delivered it wrong.
The Government was attaching Adamstown with a projected population of 20,000 on to Lucan, the fastest-growing town in Ireland, where there was already one of the poorest public transport services of any urban area and chronically congested road networks.
"We may have a railway station, but can Iarnród Éireann guarantee capacity? We may have a quality bus corridor, but will Dublin Bus provide the buses? We may have school buildings, but will the Department of Education sanction the teachers?" If the Minister for Finance would not guarantee the funding, the plan should be suspended.
Mr Cullen said Adamstown was a "very important residential site" with a potential for 8,000 homes. "These will be close to Dublin city, within the metropolitan area, and thereby avoid the generation of urban sprawl or long-distance commuting."
The scheme adopted by the council set out clearly how the area would be developed into a new community over the next few years, and would involve local "stakeholders", including local residents and transport providers. Large residential sites such as Adamstown would be fast-tracked through the planning system, and it was picked because of the comprehensive planning offered, the scale of the housing and the location of lands near existing or proposed transport corridors.
