The Government has stepped back from approving a special planning concession for the Swedish retailer Ikea, which plans a furniture superstore in Ballymun, north Dublin.
The Cabinet sought additional information yesterday from the Minister for the Environment, Mr Roche, after he sought a one-off relaxation of the normal planning restrictions for the Ikea plan.
The proposal is designed to boost the regeneration project in Ballymun and Mr Roche believes a special exemption can be approved because of the "unique circumstances" of that initiative.
While the Minister will develop "a more tightly worded proposal" following yesterday's Cabinet discussion, it is understood that the decision was delayed due to concerns about the competition and road traffic implications of the plan.
The competition concerns centre on whether the proposal might discriminate against other retail groups whose plans for superstore developments are blocked by the restrictions on store size that would not apply to Ikea in Ballymun.
The official Government spokeswoman said last night it remained to be seen whether the concession to Ikea would be "ringfenced" when the final decision was reached.
However a spokesman for the Minister indicated that Mr Roche favoured a proposal which would be exclusive to Ikea in order to promote the regeneration of Ballymun. "He feels it will be a great economic boost to that particular area," he said. "The wording is for a very restricted proposal. It's not a case of opening floodgates or anything like that. He has made that very clear." Separate concerns focus on the likelihood of increased congestion and gridlock on the M50 motorway, which is adjacent to Ikea's proposed site.
Mr Roche's spokesman said the Minister had presented an outline of his thinking to the Cabinet. "He is coming back with more precise information and with a final formal wording for the proposal," he said.
He denied that Mr Roche was disappointed at the Government's failure to back the plan and said he was still confident of Cabinet support for the initiative.
"He would like a decision to be made sooner rather than later. He is going to provide further clarification, obviously it's going to be difficult to do before Christmas, so we are looking at just after Christmas."
