The operators of a Co Clare restaurant which faces possible demolition were yesterday granted a temporary reprieve by a Circuit Court judge.
At Ennis Circuit Court operators of the Holywell Italian restaurant, Ms Sibylle Dietl and Mr Wolfgang Dietl, appealed a District Court ruling that they face one month in jail if they operate their restaurant without planning permission over the next two years.
The penalty was imposed last December arising from the Dietls building and operating the restaurant without planning permission.
The appeal was adjourned a number of times to allow An Bord Pleanála to rule on an application for planning retention.
Earlier this year Clare County Council granted planning permission for the retention application.
However, in response to an appeal from a competitor, Bord Pleanála refused the retention application for the restaurant, which is located in the foothills of the Burren in Ballyvaughan.
In spite of the Bord Pleanála ruling that the restaurant "would create an undesirable precedent for further commercial development in the Burren countryside", the Dietls continue to operate their restaurant.
They have now lodged a fresh application with the council to retain their illegal structure.
Yesterday, appearing on behalf of the Dietls, Mr Des Longe asked Judge Carroll Moran to adjourn ruling on the appeal until the council made a decision on the new application by the Dietls in November.
Mr Longe said: "I would ask you not to affirm the decision of the District Court, because if the Dietls trade they would go to jail."
He added: "They have very substantial borrowings of the order of €1.5 million which they have invested in the premises.
"The restaurant is their sole income and, depending on the time of year, 10 to 25 people are employed in the restaurant."
A solicitor for the council, Mr Daragh Hassett, said the Dietls continued to operate without planning permission, and part of the Bord Pleanála decision centred on the problems of accessing and exiting the restaurant.
Judge Moran said: "As a judge I cannot condone any breaches of the law, and I do take into account mitigating factors."
After hearing that the council is expected to give a decision on the new retention application by November 24th, the judge adjourned making a ruling on the case until December 7th.