A Co Kerry woman has failed in her High Court effort to quash planning permission for 29 holiday homes at Greenane, Templenoe, Co Kerry, next to The Ring of Kerry Golf Club.
Ms Margaret O'Shea, Greenane, Kenmare, asked Mr Justice Ó Caoimh to extend the statutory eight-week period for objecting to the development on the grounds she had been ignorant of the application for planning permission having been made to Kerry County Council.
Ms O'Shea claimed she was deceived into her ignorance because an easily visible, legible and precise notice of the application had allegedly not been fixed and maintained in a position conspicuous from the public road by the developer, Elmpath Ltd.
Judge Ó Caoimh said Ms O'Shea was a neighbouring landowner to the development lands, the sole access to which had been provided by a right of way granted by her late son, Donal, to Trentdale Ltd, which developed the golf course.
As a result of her son's death she now owned the land over which the right of way existed and claimed the existing right of way did not confer rights in respect of any housing development.
Judge Ó Caoimh said Mr Dominic Reid, company director of Elmpath, had told the court that a wide number of people in Co Kerry had been aware of the planning application which had received headline coverage in The Kerryman newspaper at the time.
Mr Reid had contended that should the court extend time to challenge the planning decision, it would cause Elmpath Ltd significant financial problems.
Bank loans had been drawn down in order to fund the development.
He said that in order to comply with the Finance Acts governing the holiday homes scheme, the development had to be completed by December 2004 and any delay could force Elmpath into receivership.
Judge Ó Caoimh said that while the High Court had jurisdiction to extend the statutory eight-week period, the Planning and Development Act stipulated it could only do so if it considered there was good and sufficient reason for doing so.
Two further conditions required the court to be satisfied there were substantial grounds for contending the planning permission was invalid or ought to be quashed, and that Ms O'Shea had a substantial interest in the development.
He said the actual placing of the notice on the lands had been at a location agreed by officers of the county council and no case had been made by Ms O'Shea that she had been prevented from reading the notice by reason of its location.
Judge Ó Caoimh said Ms O'Shea had indicated she was the owner of the land over which a right of way existed to the golf club but had not made a particular point showing how she would be affected by the development.
He was not satisfied she had advanced good and sufficient reason why he should extend the time for her to bring an application seeking to quash the planning permission.