Dublin will continue to grow disproportionately to the rest of the country unless the Government changes its decentralisation plans, it was claimed today.
Mr Tony Reddy, the President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), said such growth would not be in the capital's interests or those of the country's regional cities.
Mr Reddy told the "Future Towns and Villages Conference" the RIAI, the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (IEI) and the Institute of Landscape Architects (ILA) all strongly support the concept of decentralisation.
"It is very sensible, for reasons of balanced regional development and relief of congestion, to locate parts of organisations that do not need to be located in the capital in appropriate regional centres," he said.
"The professional bodies are concerned at some of the possible implications of the particular decentralisation programme announced by the Government as part of the December 2003 budget."
Mr Reddy said that the existing proposals would have serious implications for the National Spatial Strategy (NSS).
"While decentralisation offers an excellent opportunity to begin the implementation of the NSS, it is questionable whether the decision to disperse staff to the 53 separate locations selected is compatible with the strategy," he said.
"The NSS is a 20-year planning framework for the whole country. It aims to achieve a better balance of social, economic and physical development between regions.
"The prime moves in achieving this balanced development are to be the eight designated Gateways outside Dublin, Cork, Limerick/Shannon, Galway, Waterford, Dundalk, Sligo, Letterkenny/Derry and Athlone/Tullamore/Mullingar.
"These gateways offer the most immediate prospects of developing as engines of growth. The fact that only one gateway (Mullingar) has been chosen as a headquarters location sends a confusing message to all parties with an interest in implementing the NSS.
"Rather than signal a clear and coherent policy in relation to the implementation of the NSS, the proposed plan has the potential to ignite competition between every town in the country for investment and development, and competition with the Government's own designated gateways and hubs."
Mr Reddy addressed a 250-member audience of local authority members, officials and construction professionals at the conference, which was organised by the RIAI, the IPI and the IEI at the Radisson Hotel in Limerick.