A Mayo community group is to mount a legal challenge against the selection of five towns in the county for the Government's tax-incentive "town renewal scheme".
The selection of Ballinrobe, Belmullet, Claremorris, Foxford and Newport - out of 12 eligible urban areas - was announced at a Mayo County Council meeting the week before last.
The decision caused uproar, as the Fianna Fail whip, Mr Pat McHugh, said his party members all supported the proposal. Discussion on the seven towns not selected - Ballyhaunis, Charlestown, Crossmolina, Killala, Kiltimagh, Knock and Swinford - was disallowed.
Fine Gael, which had proposed that each of the 12 towns be assessed on an individual basis, has accused Fianna Fail of desecrating democracy by not permitting debate to take place. The five-town selection had been made at a Fianna Fail "caucus" meeting the previous evening, and its adoption by all 16 Fianna Fail councillors made the outcome inevitable.
Challenged by Fianna Fail to provide its own five-town group for selection, Fine Gael - with 13 seats - said it would not fall into this trap.
Now members of the Ballyhaunis Chamber of Commerce have accused the council of failing to abide by government guidelines in its selection - and they are to seek a High Court judicial review of the manner in which the decision was made.