Voters in the forthcoming general election should carefully consider their political choices if they favour more balanced regional development to counteract the sprawl of Dublin, according to building industry professionals.
In a report published yesterday, the Urban Forum - comprising architects, chartered surveyors, engineers, landscape architects and planners - called for all-party agreement to chart a more sustainable pattern of development.
The forum is urging whoever forms the next government to review the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) with the central objective of developing an Atlantic corridor comprising Cork, Limerick/Shannon and Galway to counter-balance Dublin.
"We're talking about these cities forming a network", said Henk van der Kamp, chairman of the Urban Forum and president of the Irish Planning Institute. "If ever an Irish generation had an opportunity of achieving this, it's this one." He emphasised, however, that the forum was not advocating "an exodus to the west", but rather saying that young people growing up there should be provided with opportunities locally so that they don't feel the need to move to Dublin.
James Pike, president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), warned that the Greater Dublin Area would account for 2.8 million out of a projected population for the State of six million unless the Atlantic corridor is developed. "The Dublin-Belfast corridor is very strong. There has been huge development in Drogheda, Dundalk and other places. It's a counter to that we're looking at on the west coast, where the road and rail networks exist but need to be improved."
The Urban Forum's document, A Better Quality of Life for All, identifies a number of critical issues that it wants to see addressed as a matter of urgency. These include:
• the increasing domination of Dublin, with 54 per cent of the population now living in Leinster;
• rapid growth of the outer suburbs of Ireland's towns and cities, while inner urban areas decline;
• and the explosion in the number of one-off houses - now accounting for up to 40 per cent of new housing stock.
It says sprawl has put growing pressure on physical and social infrastructure, such as water supply and school places, as well as increasing car dependency, with serious adverse health effects including rising levels of obesity and stress.
Asked if the Government was to blame for Dublin's sprawl, Mr van der Kamp said it would be "too simplistic" to criticise those in power.
"Ultimately, the built environment we have now is a product of decisions made by the people of Ireland."
However, he said the forum's report was intended as "a positive contribution to the forthcoming election" as there were "public-interest issues at stake" which should be debated during the campaign, along with other concerns such as health.
Asked whether the Government was at fault for failing to ensure a sufficient supply of affordable housing in the Dublin area, Sean McCormack, of the Society of Chartered Surveyors, said everyone had been "taken aback by the pace of growth".
"It's understandable that we got it wrong in places. Part of the problem was poor planning, and we're still seeing that, but there is a better quality of design and more access to public transport, and what we're trying to do is to influence overall policy."