The decision of An Bord Pleanala to refuse planning permission for a visitor facility at Mullaghmore in the Burren National Park is a landmark decision that puts to rest a nine-year long debate on the siting of visitor facilities within national parks in general, and the proper management of the Burren National Park in particular.
In April 1991 Mr Vincent Brady TD, the junior minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) announced the establishment of a National Park for the Burren in Co Clare and the proposed construction of an interpretative/visitor facility for the park at Mullaghmore (cost £2.7 million; 75 per cent EU funding).
At the time OPW developments did not come under the remit of the planning Acts. There was no obligation on the OPW to carry out an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of its proposed development and there was no mechanism or right of appeal whereby environmental NGOs and concerned citizens could raise genuine environmental concerns.
The Mullaghmore area is one of the most representative and least damaged areas of the Burren. Mullaghmore Mountain with its unique limestone terraces overlooks Lough Gealain, a lake which is part-turlough and whose level changes with the seasons.
The limestone pavement in the region supports an exceptional profusion of the rare Alpine and Mediterranean plants of the Burren and plays host to a unique diversity of butterflies, insects, mosses, ferns and protected animal species, such as the pine marten. The inclusion of the Mullaghmore area within the Burren National Park was universally welcomed by all environmental NGOs as a core area of the Burren National Park.
The 1991 OPW decision to focus visitor pressure on this unspoilt area was contrary to international guidelines on national park management. International experience had shown, in 1991, that visitor facilities for national parks should be focused on the periphery, rather than on the core area, and located preferentially in "gateway villages" where economic return to the local population could be maximised.
As a result of national and international submissions, the EU insisted that an EIA of the proposed development should be carried out before the granting of structural funds. In October 1992 EU funds were freed for the development and work began on site.
Legal proceedings were initiated in November 1992 by seven members of the Burren Action Group (BAG). The action taken was twofold: that the OPW did not have a statutory right to construct visitor centres; and that, on a constitutional basis, the OPW should be subject to the planning Acts, on the same basis as private citizens.
The High Court decided in favour of the BAG plaintiffs, and the Supreme Court subsequently confirmed the High Court decision. As a result, a new Planning Act was passed by the government, bringing the OPW and other State agencies under the remit of the planning Acts.
An application for a visitors' centre at Mullaghmore was submitted by OPW to Clare County Council in January 1994. Following a change of government, the then minister, Michael D. Higgins, withdrew the planning application.
Subsequent to a variety of studies commissioned by the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht on national park management and conservation of natural heritage areas (NHAs) and special areas of conservation (SACs), Mr Higgins applied to Clare County Council for an "entry point" for the Burren National Park at Mullaghmore in October 1996.
In September 1998 Clare County Council voted that the proposed development at Mullaghmore represented a material contravention of the Clare County Council development plan. As a result, planning permission was refused by the council on September 15th, 1998. An appeal was lodged by the Minister, Ms de Valera, in October 1998 and an oral hearing took place in Ennis in July 1999.
This was the first time that the environmental, rather than the legal, considerations of the proposed visitor centre could be raised. It was evident, during the nine-day hearing, that significant and legally-binding issues were being raised by the NGOs and by the Burren Action Group.
Today's decision by An Bord Pleanala vindicates the action taken by BAG and environmental NGOs from 1991 onwards. The oral hearing provided the first opportunity in nine years to debate the environmental issues in all their complexity and depth in a fair and democratic forum.