The High Court has refused Michael Duffy leave to bring judicial review proceedings over wastewater discharges and treatment in parts of County Clare. The decision concerns permission to pursue the proposed claims; the court did not determine the underlying complaints through a full judicial review hearing.
Mr Justice Michael Peart said the application was considered on notice to the proposed respondents, but the applicable threshold remained whether the proposed grounds were arguable. He refused leave for every relief set out in Duffy’s statement of grounds.
Duffy, a chartered civil engineer, told the court he had lived with his family in Kilfenora since 1993. He said pollution had affected a well at his home and that he and his daughter stopped swimming near Liscannor Harbour after he became aware of sewage discharges. He raised concerns about wastewater arrangements in Kilfenora, Liscannor and Quilty, and sought orders against Clare County Council, Limerick County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government.
The judge rejected the proposed claims concerning Liscannor on several grounds. He found Duffy was out of time to challenge the Council’s 2009 permission for a housing development’s connection to the municipal sewer and its discharge into Liscannor Bay under an EPA licence granted in October 2011. The court also held it could not direct the Council to adopt particular wastewater solutions or allocate public funding. The Council had said the connection was permitted to prevent untreated sewage flowing along the town’s main street, while an upgrade depended on funding that had not been provided.
For Kilfenora, the judge said Duffy was out of time and there was no arguable basis to order the Council to stop the discharge to groundwater. The Council had applied to the EPA for a licence, and the application remained under consideration. On foreshore licensing, evidence before the court included licences for Liscannor and Quilty, so the judge found no arguable basis for leave on that claim.
The court found Duffy lacked standing to bring the Quilty-specific claim, noting he lived about 15 miles away and had not shown that he was especially affected. It also rejected the proposed constitutional right to swim in unpolluted water at a particular location. The judge further held that the court could not order authorities to prosecute alleged offences or require the EPA to revoke the Liscannor licence, as the EPA had no power to revoke it under the statutory framework described in the judgment.
The ruling refused leave for all the requested reliefs, including the related claims against Limerick County Council, the EPA and the Minister. It did not grant any of the requested orders or damages.