Sir, - We welcome Mr Howlin's programme for the renewal of local government, as approved by the Cabinet on Thursday, December 19th, and reported in The Irish Times the following day. The programme outlined proposals that the Dublin and Mid East regional authorities, of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow, draw up land use planning guidelines for the greater Dublin Area, "which will have to be respected by the local authorities in the area when considering development plans", and that this will be extended to other areas "as necessary".
We would see this as going a long way towards addressing the scandal of excessive rezoning in north Kildare and north County Dublin, which figures so prominently in the headlines in 1996. It might also constitute the beginning of a regional or national settlement policy, something which has been shamefully neglected by successive governments in the past and has contributed to rural depopulation and decline, not just in the west and midlands, but even in places like south Kildare, just beyond the grasp of Dublin.
Such a policy should constitute the basis on which all future legislation and important government decisions be assessed for their impact on population distribution. It must also be welcomed by groups like the Western Development Partnership Board and by Rural Resettlement Ireland. It will be good news for traffic weary commuters who have in recent years seen incredible highway improvements on Dublin's outskirts lead rapidly to even greater traffic congestion. What were intended for the relief of traffic problems were hijacked by the powerful building and real estate lobbies and their political backers. In north Kildare alone, councillors are set to tap an extra population equivalent to that of Galway City into this road system. - Yours, etc.,
Secretary,
North Kildare Alliance for Better Planning,
Loughbollard,
Clane,
Co Kildare.