“The decision by An Bord Pleanala to overrule the recommendations of its Inspector in relation to the planning application in Castleknock Village, behind the old Church of Ireland houses, is extremely disappointing.

“It is difficult to understand why An Bord Pleanala would give the go-ahead for such a high density development at this point in time, when the country is awash with unsold houses and over-development has been such a significant factor in the banking collapse and indeed in the collapse of the construction industry.

“While the Bord has made a small number of welcome changes - slightly reducing the density of the development and providing some additional open space for residents who may eventually live in this development - nonetheless, given the significant numbers of unsold houses and apartments around Dublin 15, it is difficult to understand the logic behind the Bord’s reasoning.

“Surely it makes sense at this point in time to concentrate on finishing off work that has already started rather than rushing to provide for extra developments in a situation where there is almost no market.

“In addition at the moment it would seem absolutely logical to focus on very high quality development, in such a prestige location as Castleknock Village, so that the overall quality of the local area can be maintained. Ensuring that Dublin 15 is an attractive place to invest and do business will ensure that it is well placed to be in the front line of recovery whenever the recession ends.

“Simply adding huge amounts of extra developments, whether as by way of Bord Pleanala or by way of proposed re-zonings for warehousing, as proposed by the Managers in the County Development Plan, would not seem to be the best strategic thing to do at this point in the economic cycle. It is a recipe for disaster.”