An early date for the High Court hearing of a planning dispute between Roscommon County Council and the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, and his wife, Prof Niamh Brennan, has been granted.
The High Court President, Mr Justice Finnegan, said he was granting an early hearing and set a provisional date of December 14th, although he warned that other cases due before the court meant the date could be put back.
He accepted the argument by Mr Michael Collins SC, for Mr McDowell and Prof Brennan, that "irreparable damage" was being caused to the Minister's reputation because of media coverage surrounding the issue.
On that basis he was granting an early hearing though he pointed out he was not making the decision because Mr McDowell is a Government Minister. He would grant an early hearing to any member of the public in his situation, he said.
The dispute is centred on Roscommon County Council's refusal to extend planning permission granted in 1999 for the building of a house at Lavagh, Roosky. The council say the house Mr McDowell and Prof Brennan are building significantly differs from the original plans.
The couple were granted leave to seek a judicial review in October and are seeking a declaration that the council's actions are unlawful.
Mr Collins had argued there were three grounds for an early hearing. He said there was no remedy for the harm caused to Mr McDowell's reputation; there were costs involved in securing the site while work had ceased; and works to prevent weather damage to the unfinished property were a further expensive cost.
Mr Paul Gallagher SC, for the council, told the court today that affidavits and documents had been exchanged between the two parties and that there would be a need to cross-examine engineers for Mr McDowell and Prof Brennan.
Mr Justice Finnegan accepted this meant proceedings could take two days and therefore could not guarantee the date for the hearing.