The decision of An Bord Pleanala to refuse planning permission for offices to accommodate decentralised staff of the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs was a further example of how An Bord Pleanala was prepared to have different policies for the West of Ireland and Dublin West.

This was stated by Independent MEP Marian Harkin when she slammed the decision of An Bord Pleanala to refuse planning permission for the new offices at Ireland West Airport.

“Despite the well founded advice of the National Roads Authority to refuse planning permission for the IKEA development which is certain to cause further chaos on the M50, An Bord Pleanala in a weasel word permission has managed to justify a positive decision while it has plumbed the depths of shallow and wrong headed justification to refuse permission for the offices at Ireland West Airport”, she said.

The decision by the Government to locate the Department of Community and Gaeltacht Affairs was the only truly inspirational decision of the Government in the past ten years and was a credit to Minister Eamon O’Cuiv, Marian Harkin said, but the decision of An Bord Pleanala had revealed that the national planning body was also prepared to selectively justify decisions to grant or refuse planning permission against the spirit of Government policy.

“For those of us who use the M50 regularly to get to Dublin Airport we use more fossil fuel and discharge much more CO2 into the atmosphere in the six miles between the N4 and the Airport than any office worker based at Ireland West Airport would use in commuting to virtually any part of Co. Mayo”, Marian Harkin said.

She slated the justification of poor work conditions by An Bord Pleanala as one of the more ludicrous reasons for refusing planning permission.  “Much as we would like to see Ireland West as busy as Dublin Airport the workers at Knock  would hardly have their concentration so upset by the number of traffic movements as to interfere with their ability to perform their work effectively”, the Independent MEP said.

She urged Minister Eamon O’Cuiv to challenge the decision of An Bord Pleanala through a High Court Appeal and to refuse to accept the decision of An Bord Pleanala which was a further example of that body’s inability to acknowledge the core Government commitment to balanced regional development.

“The Government must also be prepared to change planning legislation to ensure that places like Ireland West Airport can act as a catalyst for development in disadvantaged areas, just as they were able to do so in changing planning law to accommodate the IKEA project in Dublin”, Independent MEP Marian Harkin said.