The Department of Finance has carried out no assessment of a tax incentive scheme to promote development in the upper Shannon region, despite being told that it was having a negative environmental impact.
When the Upper Shannon Rural Renewal Scheme was introduced in 1998, the Heritage Council warned that it "could harm the national heritage" in five counties - Leitrim and Longford in their entirety as well as west Cavan, south Sligo and north Roscommon.
The former minister for finance, Mr McCreevy, insisted that it should be administered by his Department, which had warned that it would prove "very costly".
Last week, in response to a query from The Irish Times, the Department of Finance conceded that the scheme "has not yet been formally evaluated to date as it would have been too early to assess the full effect" - even though six years have now elapsed.
However, it said the impact and operation of the scheme, including its "economic and social benefits", would be assessed as part of the review announced by the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, in the Budget of a variety of tax incentive and exemption measures.
Those who have availed of the scheme include the President, Mrs McAleese, and the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell.
Mr Ian Lumley, heritage officer of An Taisce, has been particularly critical of the "sprawl" of holiday homes on Co Leitrim's short coastline around Tullaghan. "What's happening in Tullaghan is tax-subsidised coastal development at its worst."
Planners in the region are known to have serious reservations about extending the scheme.
Last month, Mr Pat Forkan, director of services with Sligo County Council, told a conference in Limerick that one-off houses in the countryside accounted for 60 per cent of all planning applications received, often from people commuting up to 40 miles to work.
He expressed concern about the quality of submissions for one-off rural housing, which were extremely varied and, in many cases, of a very low standard. "Through our own observations, it is quite clear that the architectural profession is almost totally absent," he said.
