Swedish retailer Ikea says it plans to lodge separate planning applications for new stores in Dublin and Belfast within the next fortnight. The outlets, due to create almost 900 jobs in total, would be the first to be opened by the flat-pack furniture giant in Ireland.
Theresa Daly, the newly-appointed project manager for Ikea in Ireland, rejected suggestions that the 30,500sq m Ballymun store would cause traffic chaos on the already congested M50 motorway.
"We have been very careful to ensure that our store is planned and will operate in such a way as to avoid any potential further congestion," she said, noting that the company planned to upgrade St Margaret's Road, accessing the site.
She claimed Ballymun interchange was currently operating at 70 per cent capacity, and thus capable of taking more traffic. In addition, she said 40 per cent of business takes place at weekends, and the weekday opening hours of 10am-10pm would ensure that the impact on rush-hour traffic would be minimal.
Ms Daly, who is from Duagh near Listowel, Co Kerry, began working for the company 20 years ago in Vienna. She admitted the majority of customers use cars but Ikea offered a home delivery service to reduce car dependency.
She said the company would also look at public transport options in Ballymun, noting there were plans for a Metro station in the area.
Ciarán Murray, managing director of Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, welcomed Ikea's plans.
However, Green Party transport spokesman Eamon Ryan claimed the M50 was already in a critical condition.
"We are calling for Ikea not to proceed. We also think An Bord Pleanála and the local authority should consider the traffic issue in very serious depth.
"We would prefer to see Ikea do what they are doing in the UK in moving to town-centre stores rather than out-of-town stores with which they have real problems."
Mr Ryan was referring to comments earlier this month by Ikea property manager Scott Cordrey about the sustainability of out-of-town stores.
Ms Daly remarked, however: "I think he was misquoted there. He was talking about people travelling two to three hours to get to the store. We would not want any customer to do that."
The Dublin store will have 1,500 car spaces and include ancillary facilities such as a 500-seater restaurant, a bistro, a cafe, a Swedish food hall and a creche. It is due to open in the first quarter of 2007, pending planning permission from Fingal County Council.
The Belfast store has an earlier target opening date of December 2006. Employing 400 people, 100 fewer than its Dublin counterpart, it will be located at the Holywood Exchange development on the outskirts of Belfast city.
Ms Daly rejected suggestions that it was proposing to open the Belfast outlet either to allay fears about over-congestion in Ballymun, or to improve its chances of getting planning permission in Dublin. "We view them as two commercially viable options."
Of the Ballymun outlet, she added: "Our aspiration is to employ up to 50 per cent from the local area. We are quite serious about that."
She said the Dublin store would be one of the biggest in Britain or Ireland.
