A Circuit Court judge is to make a decision next week on an application by Mayo County Council for an interlocutory injunction seeking the closure of the Rossport solidarity camp in Co Mayo which houses activists opposed to the Corrib gas project.
John Kiely BL applied for the injunction on behalf of the local authority at a sitting of the court in Castlebar yesterday on the grounds that the camp was "unauthorised" as no planning permission had been sought or received for it and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) was concerned about the impact of the camp on an ecologically sensitive sand dune system.
The authority obtained an interim order against several named members of the camp last Friday.
The application for the interlocutory injunction was made yesterday against four named defendants: Mark Robinson, Eoin Ó Leidhin, Bob Kavanagh and Niall Harnett.
Mr Harnett told Judge Harvey Kenny they understood they had implicit authorisation and explicit approval from the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme (REPS) and the NPWS.
They were never informed that the camp was considered to be an unauthorised development and no warning letter was issued.
Mr Kiely opposed the application on the grounds that the development was unauthorised and irreparable damage was being caused to the local environment.
He denied that the council was "aggressive", saying that it was quite entitled to act under Section 160 of the Planning Act 2000.
As regards the residents of the camp, he said "these people may have a genuine protest, but they stand before the court in no different light to anyone who carries out an unauthorised development".
The judge said that he was conscious that there was an unauthorised structure at the camp but he explained that he still believed that the defendants were entitled to consult with their lawyers but "not for any great length of time".
He explained that he would make his decision on Tuesday, July 31st.
In the meantime, the interim order would remain in place, with the local authority giving an undertaking that it would not be enforced before the court hearing.