Plans by Kildare County Council to implement a fresh round of rezonings have been rejected by the Minister for the Environment and Rural Development, Mr Dempsey. The controversial plans would have provided for a population increase of 30,000 in the county in 15 years - double the figure agreed by the Mid-East Regional Authority.
They are contained in a draft development plan which, because it was produced after 1990, cannot be implemented unless the Minister consents to an extension.
A spokesman for the Minister said he had deferred consideration of the plan until Kildare County Council reviewed certain aspects of it.
The spokesman did not give details but it is understood that, in effect, the Minister has rejected the plan because of its rezoning proposals.
A similar plan was rejected by Mr Dempsey's predecessor, Mr Brendan Howlin.
In February, the High Court quashed the local development plan for Clane which would have allowed for a trebling of its population.
The court rejected the plan because it was adopted after the expiry of a ministerial order giving Kildare County Council a deadline to review its overall county plan.
The Minister's move was welcomed last night by the North Kildare Alliance for Better Planning.
"In seeking the Minister's permission to resume the excessive rezoning policies of former years, Kildare county councillors have demonstrated to the Department of the Environment their unwillingness to listen to the wishes of their communities, or to the sensible voices of their own professional planning staff," the Alliance said in a statement.
"In rejecting this plan, the Minister is confirming the widespread concerns of the people of north Kildare that the actions of their councillors were not in their best interests."