Courts / Kerry / Report

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

Date
2019-05-30

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Kilgarvan

County
Kerry

Summary

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.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Council quashes planning decision made in favour of Danny Healy-Rae company. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

June 14th Other
2019-05-30 Publication

Why: Last June, the Council granted permission to Healy Rae Plant Hire Limited to raise the field in Kilgarvan, Co Kerry, in order to improve its agricultural output. CNI source report