The Cabinet has paved the way for Swedish superstore Ikea to build its first store in Ireland in a decision to amend the rules on the size of such retail outlets.
Changes to the retail planning guidelines in specified town and city areas will effectively lift the current 6,000 square metre cap on floorspace for certain developments.
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche presented his plan to the Cabinet this morning and has apparently allayed his Government colleagues' fears over competition problems in the retail sector following any such decision.
In a statement this afternoon, Mr Roche confirmed the Government has decided to amend the Retail Planning Guidelines "to provide that the floorspace cap on retail warehouses will no longer apply within the functional areas of the four Dublin local authorities and in the other National Spatial Strategy Gateways".
The new guidelines will also apply in Athlone, Tullamore, Mullingar, Cork, Dundalk, Galway, Letterkenny, Limerick, Shannon, Sligo and Waterford.
Mr Roche, insisted the cap was being relaxed in a "controlled manner" and said the amendment would facilitate the entry of retail operators into the Irish market.
He said the decision is one which will widen consumer choice and bring greater competition.
The minister added that the decision would also ensure that any such development entering the market does so "on a basis which contributes to the economic and social objectives of the Government's urban renewal programme and National Spatial Strategy".
"I believe that the approach which I have adopted will deliver major benefits to Irish consumers in the years to come.
"The controlled manner in which the cap is being relaxed will ensure that retail warehouses are subject to appropriate planning control and avoid the potential downsides of providing such major development."
This is as close as you could possibly get to a win-win situation," he added.
It is expected to be some years before Ikea will open in the Republic, but the company is expected to open first in Dublin at a site near the M1 at Ballymun.
Critics of the plan claim it will add to traffic congestion in the area and that it will mark the death of smaller businesses.
However, its supporters say it will be good for competition and that it will create hundreds of jobs in an area that has suffered from lack of investment and from unemployment problems.
The Green Party said it seemed like "madness" to allow a new 'megastore' to locate on the busiest section of the M50, bringing an extra 30,000 additional car trips onto a motorway which would not be able to cope with the extra volume.
"The Cabinet should question why the Minister is abandoning the commitment given in their own National Climate Change strategy which clearly states that they will place a restriction on out-of-town retail units," said Mr Eamon Ryan.
However, Mr Roche rejected Mr Ryan's claims saying: "There is a 26,500 sq metre [Ikea] store in Glasgow. That store averages 5,000 arrivals and departures everyday. You'd have to be barking mad to say that type of traffic [30,000 additional car trips per day] will happen on the M50."
Mr Ryan said the Green Party would welcome the introduction of new Ikea stores in Ireland but believed they could be introduced within the current planning guidelines and close to the public transport lines.