Court reports mentioning Kilgarvan, Kerry

2019-05-30 · Kerry

Council quashes planning decision made in favour of Danny Healy-Rae company

Kerry County Council has agreed to quash a planning decision granted to Healy Rae Plant Hire Limited, a company owned by Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae, following a High Court challenge. Environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman, represented by Margaret Heavey BL and solicitor Aoife O'Connell, launched the action last July to set aside the Council's June permission to raise a field in Kilgarvan with construction and demolition waste. The proceedings, which were adjourned on several occasions, were briefly mentioned before Mr Justice Seamus Noonan on Thursday. The judge noted that the action had been resolved after the Council agreed to quash the decision. Healy Rae Plant Hire Ltd was a notice party but took no part in the proceedings. Mr Sweetman was granted the costs of the complex action. In his claims, Mr Sweetman alleged that the developer obtained permission to place over 50,000 tonnes of inert waste on a 1.8-hectare field with peaty soils, claiming the Council failed to consider the need for a waste licence or environmental impacts such as leachate and gas. He further alleged the decision contravened the Kerry Development Plan without an Environmental Assessment or Appropriate Assessment, despite the site's proximity to Killarney National Park Special Protection Area. The part of the judicial review involving the State became moot after the Council agreed the planning decision could be quashed.

2018-07-30 · Kerry

Challenge to planned field work by Healy Rae company

In a High Court case, environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman challenged Kerry County Council's decision to grant planning permission to Healy Rae Plant Hire Limited, a company owned by TD Danny Healy Rae, to raise a 1.8‑hectare field in Kilgarvan. Sweetman argues the council failed to obtain a waste licence, conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment or an Appropriate Assessment, and ignored the field's poor drainage, peaty soils and proximity to protected habitats. He claims the development contravenes the Kerry Development Plan and EU directives on habitat conservation. Sweetman seeks an order quashing the council's decision, declarations that the council acted outside its statutory remit, and that the state failed to transpose relevant EU directives. The court granted Sweetman permission to proceed ex‑parte, with the case scheduled for a November hearing. The council and Healy Rae Plant Hire are notice parties.