A man who lives across the road from the proposed new prison at Thornton Hall in north Co Dublin has applied to the High Court for an injunction to stop works on the site.
Michael Kavanagh, who has lived in Kilsallaghan, Co Dublin, for all of his life, is also seeking an injunction to prevent the awarding of a tender for construction of the prison on the €29 million site.
In the injunction application, which continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Thomas Smyth, Mr Kavanagh is seeking to prevent the Minister for Justice from taking any further steps to construct a "super" prison complex on the 150-acre site pending the full hearing of his legal challenge.
In an affidavit, Mr Kavanagh, a grandfather and retired Aer Lingus worker, said he has lived in Kilsallaghan for over 60 years and his mother's side goes back several generations in the area.
He had reluctantly taken this action as circumstances were so compelling he believed he had no other option.
"The future contentment of my family, their well being and birthright are at stake and stand to be irreparably damaged by what I believe to be an arbitrary and unnatural imposition not only upon them but on the rural community at Kilsallaghan," he said.
Mr Kavanagh said he first heard of the Government decision in relation to the Thornton Hall site on the radio and was "truly astounded and shocked" because there had been no prior consultation with the local community.
He said there had been a "cavalier disregard" for the concerns of local residents.
The owners of the Thornton Hall site, Richard and Una Lynam, had said in a letter to Mr Kavanagh that the offer for the site from the Government was "very substantial".
Mr Kavanagh said his daughter was refused planning permission for a house in the area because the area is zoned for agricultural land use.
In his main action, Mr Kavanagh is seeking a declaration that the decision to develop the new prison complex and the relocation of the Central Mental Hospital to the site was taken without carrying out an environmental assessment in accordance with EU Directives.
He is also seeking a declaration that the National Development Plan 2007- 2013, which was adopted by the Government earlier this year, required that an environmental assessment be carried out in accordance with the EU directive.
He wants a further declaration that a secondary treatment of waste water is required under EU Directives in relation to the urban waste treatment from the prison.