Broadcaster and journalist David McWilliams lent his support to Independent Wicklow general election candidate Evelyn Cawley at a rally in Greystones, Co Wicklow, this week.
In an address to the rally, McWilliams, author of the book and television series The Pope's Children, spoke of the difficulties being experienced by the rapid expansion of towns in the Dublin commuter belt.
Ms Cawley, a former Greystones town councillor who is campaigning for a Dáil seat, called on Wicklow County Council to implement a "community charter".
She spoke of the need to "reform the planning system so that community benefit is an integral part of any major proposal and not just an add on or means used by developers to achieve zoning".
Ms Cawley said nobody in Wicklow was addressing quality of life issues or the effect of planning decisions on commuting, management fees, or the cost of childcare.
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