A circuit Court ruling restraining Galway County Council from converting a disused pump house into a temporary dog pound has set a legal precedent. According to environmental groups, it will ensure other local authorities around the State can no longer treat EU directives with impunity.
The council had sought to convert an old pump house on the banks of one of Europe's most pristine rivers, the Owenriff, Oughterard, Co Galway, into a temporary dog pound.
Work began on the conversion in October 2000, but was halted when the Carra Mask Corrib Water Protection Group Ltd, which is charged with protecting all surface waters in the catchment areas of Lough Carra, Lough Mask and Lough Corrib on behalf of its 2,000 angling members, and a local farmer, sought an injunction against it.
The pump house is located within a proposed Special Area of Conservation (SAC), just a few hundred yards upstream from Oughterard and quite near a trout hatchery.
The pound would have housed a maximum of eight dogs in four kennels at any time and would be cleaned daily by a dog warden. The council undertook to have all waste material removed by tanker and said there would be no risk of contamination to the nearby hatchery or river.
The plaintiffs were granted a permanent injunction in the Circuit Court last July and were awarded costs. During the two-day hearing before Judge Harvey Kenny, the plaintiffs said the dog pound would pose a serious risk to the most valuable trout and salmon spawning grounds in Europe.
The Owenriff River, it was said, is the eighth most important river in Europe, because it is home to a significant population of Margaritifera margaritifera (pearl mussel), an organism that requires pristine water conditions to live and spawn.
In addition, the trout hatchery, situated 100 metres downstream from the proposed dog pound, supplies over half a million fry each year to Lough Corrib, and salmon also spawn in the vicinity.
Dúchas and the Western Regional Fisheries Board, both of which supported the plaintiffs' application for a permanent injunction, said they had not been consulted about the proposed development by the local authority.
Of equal concern to both the anglers and the water protection group at the time was the seeming disregard by the local authority for the SAC designation under the European Communities Habitats Directive, 92/43/EEC.
Judge Kenny reserved his judgment at the time and requested further written submissions from both sides on the EU law issue. His verdict, delivered at Galway Circuit Court recently, restrains the county council from converting the pump house to a dog pound.
Mr Anthony Waldron, adviser to the water protection group, said this is a most important and impressive judgment.
"The main aim of the group is the protection of the fragile and unique land and water environment of the great lake and river systems in the west of Ireland. As part of the Corrib catchment, the Owenriff River is of major significance. This relates to both its recognised population of Margaritifera margaritifera and the nursery/spawning potential of the river, for the trout and salmon who have used it as their sanctuary for countless generations.
"The group is grateful the judiciary recognised both the importance of the river, and the influence SAC designation, under the European Habitats Directive, can play in its protection, Mr Waldron said.
The group now hopes that both Galway County Council and other local authorities will realise they can no longer treat EU directives with impunity, and that they also must play their part in helping to maintain and protect unique environments such as the Owenriff River.
Ann Healy