The Green Party has called on the Minister for the Environment, Mr Cullen, to rescind a planning decision that would see the population of a Co Louth village increase by 400 per cent.
Party leader Mr Trevor Sargent was responding to news this morning that a senior Fianna Fáil figure in Co Louth succeeded in having lands rezoned by the county council that are now estimated to be worth more than €9 million.
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Mr Donal Kinsella, a businessman and property developer, owns 47 acres of land just off the M1 motorway near Dunleer village. The rezoning decision increases the value of the land from about €10,000 per acre to about €200,000 per acre.
Mr Kinsella is chairman of the South Louth Comhairle Ceanntair of Fianna Fáil.
"The Dunleer rezoning decision to inflate the village's population from 1,000 to 4,000 is a travesty for sustainability and community development," Mr Sargent said.
"Again planners and the public can see that if there is a conflict between the common good and the interests of Fianna Fáil, then the common good suffers.
"I put it to the majority on Louth County Council who voted to increase the population of the village by 400 per cent what future life can the commuters who will incur huge debts to buy new houses on this newly rezoned land expect?
"Are they the least bit bothered that petrol is due to run out by 2050 AD according to Lord Brown of BP?", he added.
A spokesman for Mr Cullen said the Minister does not usually get involved in individual cases.
He added that Mr Cullen is entitled to "give direction" to local authorities, but that no Minister has ever exercised that power.
