Friends of the Irish Environment challenge flood works

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The Friends of the Irish Environment Group brought a High Court challenge to Galway County Council’s authorisation of emergency flood relief works in Connemara, reported on 13 October 2022.

The proceedings concern works near Kylemore Bridge over the Dawros or Kylemore River, close to Kylemore Abbey. The group claims the council proceeded under the Local Authorities Act 1949 without environmental assessments and that EU environmental protections required a different planning route.

The group sought to quash the council’s authorisation, pause the works temporarily and obtain declarations concerning the 1949 Act and the State’s implementation of EU environmental directives. The case was briefly mentioned before Mr Justice Charles Meenan on 13 October 2022 and adjourned to December.