Cabinet to receive details of Roche’s retail outlet plan
Environment Minister Dick Roche is due to provide further details to the Cabinet today about his plan to relax planning guidelines to facilitate an Ikea furniture store in Ireland.
Mr Roche is planning to lift the cap on the size of retail warehouses in “urban regeneration” areas of certain towns and cities.
The size limit was introduced to prevent large out-of-town superstores from putting local, community-based shops out of business.
Although the minister’s proposals will not name Ikea in particular, they were drawn up response to lobbying from the Swedish furniture giant.
Ikea, which operates from massive warehouse-type stores, has long been planning an outlet in the Ballymun area of Dublin, but has been put off by restrictions on size.
Last month, the Cabinet delayed a decision on whether to relax the restrictions due to concerns that Mr Roche’s proposals could harm competition, increase traffic on the M50 and lead to further relaxation demands in the future.
