The High Court yesterday refused leave to a Co Wicklow farmer to bring judicial review proceedings against the State in relation to the proposed development of a landfill dump near Rathnew, Co Wicklow.
Mr Justice Kelly will now consider whether Ms Mary Pat Cosgrave has established substantial grounds that would allow her bring proceedings against An Bord Pleanála in relation to that body's granting of permission for the 180,000-tonne landfill on a site at Ballynagran, Coolbeg and Kilcandra, adjoining her lands.
The board, whose own inspector opposed the granting of permission for the development, is not opposing Ms Cosgrave's application for leave to bring the judicial review proceedings. However, Greenstar Holdings Recycling Limited, which secured permission for the landfill from An Bord Pleanála in November 2003, has opposed the application.
Yesterday, Mr Maurice Collins SC, for Greenstar, argued that the court still had to determine whether Ms Cosgrave had reached the "substantial grounds" threshold necessary for her to be permitted bring the judicial review challenge.
Ms Cosgrave, of Westbrooke, Rathnew, has initially applied for leave to bring proceedings against Wicklow County Council, An Bord Pleanála and the State in relation to the proposed landfill. Her application was opposed by the council, the State and Greenstar but not by the board.
On Tuesday, Mr Justice Kelly ruled that Ms Cosgrave had not established substantial grounds entitling her to proceed with a case against the council.
Yesterday, the judge heard submissions as to whether Ms Cosgrave had established substantial grounds to bring proceedings against the State.
Mr Michael O'Donnell, for Ms Cosgrave, had argued that the State had failed to properly transpose into Irish law the provisions of two EC Directives relating to the implementation of an Environmental Impact Assessment on certain projects which were the subject matter of those directives.
Because of the inadequacy of the transposition of the directives, An Bord Pleanála was unable to consider the environmental impact of such landfill developments, it was argued.
Giving his decision, Mr Justice Kelly said that it was impermissible to raise in judicial review proceedings matters regarding the adequacy of the transposition of directives.
Remedies in judicial review were related to the conduct of the decision-making process. Ms Cosgrave's complaint regarding adequacy of transposition could not be directed at the decision-making process of An Bord Pleanála but was rather a criticism of the State's obligation to honour the EC Directives.
In such circumstances, he could not permit judicial review proceedings to be brought against the State.