Just when it seemed Ventry Strand, the renowned beauty spot in Co Kerry, would not be the site of development, a new plan for holiday homes by the beach has emerged.
A decision by Kerry County Council to grant planning permission to Ventry Holdings for the erection of 58 two-storied, four-bedroomed houses near the shoreline caused a furore early last year.
Many found the decision extraordinary, not least Fis Fionn Tra, a locally-based community organisation, and the International Tourists and Friends of Ireland group, known as Intire.
Its chairman is Dr Albert Schumacher, a Swiss national who also holds Irish citizenship. Dr Schumacher owns a restaurant and apartments in Ventry.
His group is made up mainly of non-nationals with a deep affection for the serenity counties like Kerry have to offer. They believe that if planners are not curbed, Ireland's coastline - and much more besides - will go the way of Spain and other parts of Europe.
An appeal was lodged with An Bord Pleanala and an oral hearing took place in Tralee.
In what was described as a landmark judgement, the board overturned the council's decision last May.
Now Ventry Holdings has lodged a new application with the county council for outline planning permission - this time for the erection of 21 holiday homes in the same area.
Intire believes this development is a modified version of the original and will have the same effect on the appearance of the shoreline.
"The visual, environmental and cultural qualities of the area will be severely affected. Please can you help us once again to fight this appalling possibility," the group said in a letter to The Irish Times.
Dr Schumacher, speaking from his home in Switzerland, said almost 400 people, not all non-nationals, were opposed to the development and would fight it as hard as they had fought against the first proposal.
He said Intire was an informal association dedicated to the fight against planning blight in one of the last reasonably unspoilt areas of Europe.
There has been a well-documented history of resentment in parts of this country towards foreigners who buy land in beauty spots such as Kerry and west Cork.
There has also been well-documented evidence that some non-nationals have done things that have made them less than popular here: for instance taking proprietorial rights too far by erecting fencing where walkways had been open to locals for years.
Tensions like these were commented on not too long ago in a consultant's report on the Beara Peninsula and planning difficulties there which led to fraught relations between locals and newcomers opposed to developments in the region.
The indigenous population was concerned that because of bidding up, local young people could not afford to buy homes in their own place.
The report suggested communication could have been better between both sides and that there should be dialogue. The signs are that this will happen there.
In that general context, it seemed appropriate to ask Dr Schumacher how he would feel if a group of Irish arrived in his country and started lobbying against the rights of Swiss people to develop their commercial interests as they saw best.
The question agitated Dr Schumacher but his answer was that he would welcome Irish lobbyists in Switzerland if it meant an end to the ski lifts that have marred and disfigured the natural landscape there.
Dr Schumacher and his group believe that in an increasingly frenzied world, tranquillity is more important than money.
When his group was formed five years ago the only purpose was to avoid the mistakes made elsewhere. Was that an arrogant view?
"Not at all - speculators in Spain, France and Italy have caused more trouble than you can imagine," he said.
"The people who come to live in Ireland from outside its shores, or those who come to visit are not coming for leisure centres or holiday villages - they are coming for the open beauty of the terrain.
"What is the point in giving planning permission to developments in scenic areas that are seasonal only but have to be looked after all year long when the tourists are gone?" he asked.
In the new Europe, Dr Schumacher insists, anyone who takes a stake in a country is entitled to voice opinions about the environment in which they have come to live and to express views on how things might be made better. Equally some non-nationals may have to learn to live with aspects of the Irish way of doing things.
Fis Fionn Tra wants the land in question to be rezoned back to its original status as a prime amenity area as it was designated in 1968 by Kerry County Council.
The Ventry group is actively canvassing the support of local politicians and is hoping to use the leverage of the upcoming local elections next June to make its point.
But there is another side to the story, according to Mr Michael Kavanagh, a director of Ventry Holdings.
About seven years ago, backed by several investors, he was given planning permission for a 100-bedroom hotel and 60 holiday homes on the same site. Some of the backers pulled out and the project did not go ahead. There was little or no local opposition, he says.
The proposal rejected by An Bord Pleanala last May was then brought forward. Mr Kavanagh says that at the oral hearing which followed, only one person objected to any form of development on the site, while other objectors voiced concern about the scale of the development.
For that reason, Ventry Holdings made a new application, this time for a smaller one. He believes most opponents to this application are non-nationals who like what they have found in Kerry and want to keep it that way "just for themselves".
If the county council grants this application, it is likely that another appeal will be lodged to An Bord Pleanala.