Ireland has its own version of the American "cappuccino cowboys" phenomenon with urban families forced to live in rural areas, the House was told. Fine Gael's transport spokeswoman, Ms Olivia Mitchell, said that in the US "cappuccino cowboys" are urban dwellers seeking to live in rural settings.
However, in the Irish version, families in the Dublin area are forced to move up to 70 and 80 miles away, and "not just to the outer regions of the counties around Dublin". Ms Mitchell criticised the strategic planning guidelines for the capital city, which set out a framework for sustainable development of the greater Dublin area, including the mid-east regions.
The guidelines were not working, they were vague and "clearly they are not being adhered to". She said that even if they were clear and were being adhered to "they are producing catastrophic settlement results". Families were being forced to move 70 and 80 miles away and that was an "irreversible trend".
The Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, said that the guidelines were designed to "reverse or slow down what is happening, but to expect them to do that within 18 months of being put in place is unrealistic". He had written to local authorities not in compliance with the guidelines, asking them to revise their development plans.
However, Ms Mitchell said writing to local authorities and asking them for explanations would not change settlement strategies. "The evidence of our own eyes and all the best planning advice is that the guidelines are now being interpreted in a way which is locating Dublin families too far away from Dublin for a sustainable way of life and yet too near to Dublin to avoid the drag of Dublin."