Judgement on Costs in the Hill of Tara Case.

dublin | environment | news report Tuesday March 14, 2006 16:30 by c murray - TaraWatch dotliath at gmail dot com n/a 0877765289

Judgement deferred until the 15th march 2006.

Counsel for Meath County Council, the NRA and the Dept of the Environment today applied to justice Symth at the High Court for costs against Vincent Salafia in the case seeking judicial review of Minister Roche's decision to grant 38 licences of excavation along the M3 , Kells to Clonee.

The case was delayed for half an hour due to justice being stuck in traffic.
Counsel for the three respondents stated that they wanted their costs payed due to the emphatic judgement of Justice Smyth and they contended that since the case failed that they were entitled to these costs.
Colm mac Eochaidh , counsel for Mister Salafia contended that Mr Salafia had
no personal gain to achieve through taking the case and therefore the matter of costs should not be laid before him. He contended that ordinary members of the public should have access to judicial process at reasonable cost and pointed to the fact that not one of the 4,000 objectors in the An Bord Pleanala process had sought judicial review of that decision because of the issue of costs.

in referring to the disallowed evidence on the two sites at Baronstown and Collierstown he contended that the refusal of the three respondents to allow for oral evidence and cross examination of expert witnesses had led to the need for affidavitts. The process of achieving this had necessarily caused delay, but that it should be recorded that delay was the only reason why this evidence was disallowed in the court. Judgement on the issue will take place tomorrow.

Counsel for Meath County Council contended that a serious allegation about their approach to the sites had cast aspersions on their ethical management of the excavations. The case continues tomorrow.