Chief Justice to speed up hearing on City Bypass

Date Published: 07-Apr-2010

By Enda Cunningham

The Chief Justice of Ireland has agreed to expedite the legal challenges against plans for the €320 million Galway City Outer Bypass, the Connacht Tribune has learned.

All documentation in relation to the two Judicial Review cases – which centre on whether the motorway would interfere with the integrity of an environmentally sensitive site at Menlo – is required to be lodged within the next fortnight.

County Manager Martina Moloney told the Connacht Tribune that the local authority applied to Chief Justice John Murray, President of the Supreme Court for an expedited hearing of the appeals from environmental activist Peter Sweetman and campaigners Hands Across the Corrib Ltd.

“No date for hearing has been set, but what he did do is set out a timetable for preparation for the hearing, which allows the appellant lodge books of appeal.

That allows three weeks for the appellants (from mid-March) and a further two weeks for the respondents [the County Council and National Roads Authority].

“We are most anxious for the hearing to take place as soon as possible,” said Ms Moloney.

Meanwhile, responding to requests by Deputy Frank Fahey – the Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport – to engage in informal talks with the European Commission, the County Manager said it would not be appropriate until after the Supreme Court’s decision.

The highly complex legal wrangle is likely to see the Supreme Court refer the entire matter to the European Court of Justice, a process that could take up to 18 months.

Read more in today’s Connacht Tribune