In a progressive move, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council planners have made many proposed developments conditional on the provision of public transport.

A number of these conditions relate to the provision of land for the extension of the Luas line from the Sandyford Industrial Estate through Central Park to Carrickmines.

While it may be several years before the line is activated, the planners also conditioned the developments to provide feeder buses to take staff to the DART line and into the Quality Bus Corridor network.

According to the Fine Gael spokeswoman on traffic, Ms Olivia Mitchell TD, however, the moves, while welcome, will not prevent a chaotic situation developing. Ms Mitchell, who is also a member of the planning authority, said the problem was that "everything was allowed to happen together".

Ms Mitchell, who has persistently called for work to begin on the Dundrum by-pass in advance of the other schemes, told The Irish Times "there is now no way to avoid the nightmare".

"We have known for years that foot-dragging would lead to this situation. Now, all of a sudden, all the road schemes are due to start at the same time. I predict about five years of hell, the mother of all bottlenecks, before it gets better."

Ms Mitchell said the local authority was looking at "little things", which might ease the situation somewhat, "but in reality these are just drops in the ocean".

Ms Mitchell also said the costs of the schemes had risen considerably because of their getting underway at once. The Government and the local authority were, in effect, competing with themselves in seeking to build so many roads at the same time.

"There just isn't the capacity out there for it. If you are working flat out on one contract you are unlikely to be able to even tender for another at the same time. There is the labour shortage to consider," she said.