Council not in contempt over flood relief scheme

The High Court has dismissed an application by Friends of the Irish Environment alleging that Roscommon County Council breached a court order regarding a proposed flood relief scheme. Mr Justice Garrett Simons rejected claims that council chief executive Eugene Cummins should be held in contempt. The case centres on a 3km pipeline designed to transfer water from Lough Funshinagh, a protected seasonal lake, to Lough Ree to alleviate flooding affecting nearby residents. FIE successfully challenged the original scheme last August on environmental grounds, and the council agreed to remediate works already carried out. However, the council subsequently obtained approval for emergency flood relief works under different statutory provisions in October, which would utilise the partially-constructed pipeline. The judge held that the August order did not prevent the council from pursuing the scheme under alternative legislation, and that obtaining fresh development consent constituted a significant change in circumstance. Mr Justice Simons invited FIE to bring judicial review proceedings if it wished to challenge the October decision, directing that any such application be heard before him.