Delvin in Co Westmeath is set to become Dublin's newest dormitory town. Local councillors have overruled the advice of planners to give the go-ahead for massive housing development near the village.
Currently home to 358 people, Delvin will have a population of more than 4,000 when the 60 acres of rezoned land on its outskirts are developed.
Mr Donie Cassidy TD, one of three public representatives for the area, yesterday defended the rezoning by Westmeath County Council. He said the village was "dying on its feet", and new houses had to be built to ensure it didn't become "a wilderness".
He said there was no other land available for development as "people don't want to sell land".
One of the parcels of rezoned land is owned by Mr P.J. O'Shaughnessy, the other Fianna Fáil representative for the area.
Mr O'Shaughnessy declared his interest in the land and abstained in votes on the matter.
The other parcel of land is owned by Mr Pat Cogan, a former election agent of the Fine Gael representative, Mr Frank McDermott.
One local resident, Mr Robert McGrogan, said the rezonings would turn the village into "another Rochfortbridge".
Rochfortbridge, another Westmeath village, has seen its population double in 10 years as commuters moved into newly built housing estates. Delvin is less than 50 miles from Dublin.
The county manager, Ms Ann McGuinness, opposed the Delvin rezoning.
Planning permissions already granted would provide for an increase in population to 600, she pointed out. In addition, 163 acres were already zoned residential, and these could accommodate an extra 1,400 people. Rezoning would impede the development of the village centre and would not promote sustainability.
However, Mr Cassidy said the land already zoned residential was not available. "These are old gardens belonging to people who want their privacy and don't want to sell."
The Department of Environment is making available almost €1 million for upgrading the sewerage system for the land. This represents 40 per cent of the cost of upgrading; the developer will have to pay the rest.
Mr Cassidy pointed out that Delvin's population had declined by 11 per cent in the past five years, at a time when the rest of Westmeath was booming.
"When you see three classes closed in the national school and three hurling teams having to come together to put out a single team, you know something's wrong."
He dismissed previous attempts drawn up by county council officials for the development of the village as "complete and utter failures".
The TD acknowledged one of his business activities was house-building but he said this wasn't his main line of business and he wasn't interested in building in Delvin.
Mr McDermott said there was no chance of getting people to build in the village centre. "If you want the town to develop there's no point in sowing seeds where they're not going to grow."
