Leitrim has the shortest coastline of any county in Ireland and might have been expected to take steps to protect it. Instead, the area around Tullaghan is becoming "saturated" with one-off houses, according to Mr Ian Lumley, heritage officer of An Taisce.
This "rampant development", as he calls it, is being fuelled by the availability of tax incentives under the Rural Renewal Scheme, which covers Leitrim and Longford as well as parts of Sligo, Roscommon and Cavan. And, of course, there is no plan to regulate the impact.
"What's happening in Tullaghan is tax-subsidised coastal development at its worst," Mr Lumley complains.
It shows little has been learned from the bitter experience of the Seaside Resorts scheme, which visited such ruin upon Kilkee, Courtown, Achill, Tramore and other places.
"At least the seaside resorts can be served by upgraded sewerage, but in Tullaghan it's all individual houses with septic tanks," he says. "This must surely be creating a water pollution time-bomb, with implications for groundwater supplies and, ultimately, bathing water quality."
Leitrim County Council is responsible for a three-mile coastal zone, but it's "proving to be an expert in making a mess of it", said Mr Lumley.
"Planning reports are being done by temporary assistant engineers and the whole thrust seems to be to facilitate development."
Even in cases where the planners recommend a refusal, they are under instructions from county manager Mr John Tiernan to supply a list of conditions which might be attached to a decision to grant permission, should he exercise his power to overturn their recommendation.
Mr Tiernan rejected An Taisce's charges. He said there was no water pollution "time-bomb" in Tullaghan, as the area was served by a sewage treatment plant, to be upgraded under the National Development Plan. It was also an area where "strict planning controls" applied.
"Any developments which have been granted permission are located in the village and have been designed in consultation with the county council planning staff," he said. These included streetside terraces to consolidate the village and sustain its long-term viability.
The county manager rejected An Taisce's allegation that Leitrim's short coastline was being "saturated" by one-off houses. "One would wonder whether anyone who would draw that conclusion was 'standing in the right field'," he said in a statement.
Mr Tiernan said Leitrim had the lowest population density in the State and its demographic profile showed a "distinct shortage" of people aged 16 to 45. Tullaghan itself had also suffered from decay and its local school had closed.
"The Rural Renewal tax incentive scheme to grant-aid residential homes has been the most positive intervention in Co Leitrim in modern times and has broad political and community support."
