Sir, - Only a meaningful national settlement strategy offers a real solution to Dublin's housing crisis and worsening traffic congestion as well as to the regional imbalances which have been highlighted in the recent debate concerning the next round of EU Structural Funds. In this respect, the call by the Fine Gael leader, John Bruton, for "an emergency housing zoning policy to cut through delays, inconsistencies and political conflicts in development plans at local level" displays an opportunist political approach which is flawed. It is simplistic to see rezoning as a solution to the housing crisis. One only has to read the Bacon Report to discover that physical availability of land is not an imminent constraint on housing development. Within the greater Dublin area, Bacon identified a current potential for over 130,000 housing units. Last year in Dublin 9,500 houses were built. The problem is not the supply of land but "cherry picking" by developers of the most valuable sites. This pushes commuters further afield and adds to the congestion problems on all our arterial routes into the city.
On the other hand, over 13 counties still have a level of GDP of only 67 per cent of the EU average, as opposed to a comparable figure of 121 per cent for the greater Dublin area. Successive governments have displayed a lack of political will to tackle these inter-linked problems. More balanced regional development would encourage people to relocate for work outside the Dublin area, thus helping to redress the problems of rural depopulation and age-dependency. Objective One status for the Midland, Border and Western Regions would create the opportunity for a more even spread of the benefits of the Celtic Tiger.
It behoves Mr Bruton to see the wider context in which the housing/traffic crisis affecting Dublin must be viewed. The simplistic solution of advocating the seemingly endless expansion of the commuter zone from Blanchardstown to North Kildare to Carlow and beyond must be acknowledged as unsustainable. In this context the unseemly rush by county councillors in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow to push through rezonings before regional planning guidelines for the Dublin area are published in December must be questioned. The current proposal to spend £172 million in the short term to address the problems of traffic in Dublin indicates the cost of short-sighted policies. It is time to implement, in a determined and radical manner, a national settlement policy which obviates the need for the endless expansion of Dublin and reduce the flood of people, skills, talents and financial resources to the greater Dublin region. - Yours, etc., Paul Croghan,
North Kildare Alliance for Better Planning, Moyglare, Maynooth, Co Kildare.