The Government is examining the possibility of a radical expansion of its power to compulsorily acquire development land for infrastructure and housing projects, it has emerged.
One idea under discussion is believed to be the possibility of introducing "step-in rights" to acquire at agricultural prices property zoned as residential or industrial, but not used for those purposes.
These rights would be invoked if it could be shown that the property had not been used for residential or industrial purposes for more than 12 months.
However, delays in the planning process would be likely to be seen as a legitimate ground for failing to develop property.
Any move to introduce such rights is likely to be strongly resisted by property developers, who are frequent financial donors to the political parties.
Such an initiative would require support at the highest levels of the Government. Discussions are at an early stage, but they are separate to an examination by the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Constitution of constitutional property rights, which was sought by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.
It is acknowledged that complex legal questions about the fundamental rights related to land ownership would be raised in any move to expand the compulsory purchase regime.
A Department of Environment spokesman would not comment on the detail of the process, but said: "This is just one of the options, at a very early stage of consideration."
But with the Exchequer spending hundreds of millions of euro on land for public use, there are indications that the Government wants to work towards a new "integrated framework" for the management of infrastructure. "There is a general wish to look at constraints on infrastructure," said one individual.
This is likely to include what the person said was the "general issue" of land acquisition, the cost of which has risen sharply in recent years.
If the Government compulsorily acquired unused land zoned residential and sold it on to other developers, changes in the regime could also be used to stimulate housing development. With 12-month step-in rights included in a package, it would be open to the Government to buy the land back from its new owner if they did not develop it quickly.
It is thought that this mechanism could be used to bring serviced land to the market sooner, increasing the supply of housing to meet demand. In theory, this could ease property price inflation or reduce prices over time.
While the cost of housing was discussed in detail during talks on the new social partnership agreement, an expansion in the Compulsory Purchase Order regime is unlikely to be embraced in the final agreement.
The trade union movement is believed to have expressed concerns about the social and inflationary effects of high property prices, which are seen as a major driver of wage demands.