Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Dec 2002

Vol. 559 No. 3

Adjournment Debate. - Land Rezoning.

Mr. Gogarty

Pending a full investigation into the controversial rezoning of lands in 1998 and the role played in that process by developers, lobbyists, councillors and council officials in south Dublin, the designation of Adamstown as a strategic development zone should be suspended. There should also be an examination of matters pertaining to that designation.

The lands at Adamstown, Lucan, County Dublin, were designated as a strategic development zone by the Government in 2001. As a result, a statutory process begins on 6 January to develop the lands in a detailed manner. Following public consultation, the final plan from the council may be accepted, modified or rejected by councillors. If it is rejected, developers may table their own plans. If it is accepted, it will go to An Bord Pleanála for a final decision following further submissions. The merits of the current plans are not in question, nor are the rights and wrongs of housing at this location. However, there is significant suspicion hanging over the original rezoning of Adamstown which, allied to new information published in The Sunday Business Post last week, makes it imperative that any SDZ designation be frozen until the facts can come out fully. I have written to the Flood tribunal calling on it to investigate the circumstances surrounding Adamstown's rezoning, as has at least one other local representative.

The facts surrounding this case are interesting to say the least. Adamstown has a history of failed attempts to rezone the land, yet the largest segment was purchased in 1996 and 1997 by Castlethorn Developments for €30 million. That whopping investment in Adamstown was made before the land was rezoned. The big question is what crystal ball did Joe Reilly and his team use to show them that the lands would be rezoned after their purchase. The Adamstown lands are now valued at over ten times their agricultural price which means a significant killing will have been made if housing can go up, no matter what checks and balances can be made by the community. I want to know if Castlethorn Developments got lucky or if it got a tip-off. Did it tip the balance in its favour by bribing officials? I make no allegations and hold no firm opinion, but it is my duty, as an elected representative, to help find out how the lands came to be rezoned and by whom.

According to the article in The Sunday Business Post, it now transpires that Joe Reilly paid Richard Lynn €25,000 as a consultant on Adams town. Straight away alarm bells ring. We already know of Lynn's dubious record in relation to the Cherrywood Development. Cherrywood is one of the most controversial of all, with money alleged to have been paid on behalf of Monarch Properties to councillors, the very suspicions that prompted Messrs. Smith and McEochaidh to issue a reward for information which ultimately led to the Flood tribunal.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Deputy should not mention names.

Mr. Gogarty

I will try not to. It does not take a rocket scientist to smell a whiff of something foul when the aforementioned person played the same role in the rezoning of Adamstown. Did he pocket the €25,000 for himself or was it passed on to council officials and councillors? The jury is out, but the question is valid and needs to be answered clearly and without uncertainty.

The influential chief planning officer of South Dublin County Council, Enda Conway, was totally opposed to the rezoning of Adamstown.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Deputy should not abuse the privilege of the House.

Mr. Gogarty

So were staff in the planning department.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The Deputy is mentioning the names of people.

Mr. Gogarty

I will not mention any more names. A few days before the draft plan was published in 1997, a rezoned Adamstown was added on by the assistant county manager. What inspired officials to rezone Adamstown at the last minute to the shock and surprise of Lucan residents when Lucan already had enough land rezoned to last at least five years? Why did not South Dublin County Council give a detailed account of contacts between officials and Castlethorn? We need to know the truth. We need to be reassured that it was all just a cosy chat in the interests of sustainable development. But I fear we will be disappointed. If the SDZ goes ahead before an investigation, irreparable damage will be done to Lucan. The infrastructural guarantees may not be there to ensure that Adamstown's 10,000 houses will be built in a phased and sustainable way. Iarnród Éireann, Dublin Bus, the Department of Education and Science, the Dublin Transportation Office and South Dublin County Council have no coherence, no guarantees. We can work with the current enlightened planners and community groups and take a gamble with An Bord Pleanála but the pain and stress will be worth nothing if we find out in a year that the land should never have been rezoned in the way and at the time it was.

We also need to know how Adamstown was designated as an SDZ in 2001. What transpired between Castlethorn and the then Minister responsible for this SDZ? What contributions were made to the Progressive Democrats by the developer and was the Whip applied in terms of voting for the development?

Planning in Lucan has been a mess. The Liffey Valley rezoning was dodgy, Laraghcon was questionable as is Adamstown. There appears to be something rotten with the state of development zones such as Adamstown. A former county manager became a consultant for a developer who is responsible for a large number of planning breaches in the county.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

These can be identified.

Mr. Gogarty

I am trying not to identify them.

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

The main point is that the Deputy should not be using the privilege of the House.

Mr. Gogarty

My suspicion is that something untoward happened to change the zoning of lands. I am not naming names but was money paid over to corrupt officials and councillors by people acting on their own or in collusion with others? We need to know the truth before the land is developed. Laraghcon was destroyed before the Flood tribunal had a chance to ascertain suspicions of corruption. Will the Minister of State, Deputy Ahern, ask the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, to ensure the same does not happen to Adamstown? He should freeze the SDZ for three years and examine it thoroughly. Lucan and good planning in general depends on the Minister to ensure that transparency exists where we now have shade and confusion. There are questions that need to be answered and I hope they will be answered during the suspension.

Mr. N. Ahern

The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments was established by the Oireachtas to inquire into and report on various planning matters. Any allegation of wrongdoing in relation to the zoning of land referred to by the Deputy would be a matter to be investigated by the tribunal. My Department is not aware if this particular zoning decision is under investigation by the tribunal. Perhaps if the tribunal found whatever newspaper article the Deputy speaks of to be of interest, it might commence investigations if it has not already done so.

I wish to outline the history of the designation of the Adamstown lands as a strategic development zone. The lands in question were zoned residential by the South Dublin County Development plan which was adopted by the council on 15 December 1998. I understand this was on the recommendation of the professional planners.

The fundamental goal of the Government's housing policy since we took office has been to put in place a range of measures that would create the conditions to increase the supply of housing to meet demand. One of the many initiatives taken by this Government to increase supply was the designation of large residential sites as strategic development zones in order to fast-track these sites through the planning system so that all land use planning issues were considered properly while at the same time getting units on the ground as quickly as possible.

Part 9 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, provides that the Government can designate sites as SDZs where, in their opinion, specified development on particular sites is of economic or social importance to the State. Three sites were designated by Government order for residential development on 19 June 2001. The orders came into force on 1 July 2001. The three sites are located in Adamstown in Lucan, Hansfield in Blanchardstown and Clonmagadden Valley, Navan. Each of these sites has estimated housing yields of 8,000, 1,750 and 1,400 units respectively. The local area plan for the Adamstown area was published in 2001 and was subsequently adopted by South Dublin County Council.

The SDZ sites were designated following an evaluation by the Department of the Environment and Local Government of proposals submitted by the relevant local authorities. All the proposals received by the Department were assessed having regard to the provisions of Part 9 of the Planning and Development Act.

The Adamstown SDZ site is strategically located, adjacent to a rail line, is in close proximity to the outer ring road and is served by two quality bus corridors. Not only will the site deliver up to 8,000 housing units but the planning scheme also provides for schools, community and childcare facilities, shopping and parks, all important components to ensure a high quality living environment. It is also important to note that the phasing of the development has been carefully thought out so as not to impact adversely on the existing community.

The local authorities concerned were asked to expedite the preparation of planning schemes and the provision of infrastructure for the SDZ sites. I understand that South Dublin County Council expect to put the planning scheme for Adamstown on public display, as Deputy Gogarty said, on 6 January 2003 for a period of six weeks. Adamstown is still viewed as a very important residential site, with a potential housing yield of up to 8,000 dwelling units close to the city in the metropolitan area, thereby avoiding further urban sprawl and long-distance commuting. For all these reasons, the Minister does not intend to propose to the Government that it should revoke its order for the designation of Adamstown as a strategic development zone.

The Deputy said he had reported the matter to the tribunal. It is up to the tribunal to consider whether there is anything in what the Deputy has said.

Mr. Gogarty

Just to correct the record, Adamstown was not recommended by the senior planner in South Dublin County Council, but by the assistant county manager who ratified it three days before.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.10 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 13 December 2002.