THE Save Galway Bay (SGB) environmental group confirmed last night that it is to consider taking court action to prevent the £23 million sewage treatment plant proceeding at Mutton Island.
As a majority of Galway city councillors welcomed yesterday's surprise announcement, the SGB chairman, Mr Michael Flaherty, predicted that it was a decision that most Galway people would come to regret.
"We are disappointed. This was something we thought might happen, but we did not expect it now, a few weeks before the EU makes its final decision on the project".
The EU's response would be very telling as Irish authorities were proceeding with a project that the European Commission had environmental reservations about, and yet continuing to seek Cohesion Funds as work was commencing, Mr Flaherty said.
"If it goes ahead, we believe we will be proved to be right, but that is not to say we are throwing in the towel. We will consider all options including court action," he added.
SGB, which campaigned against the project on grounds of visual impact and the effects on waters in inner Galway Bay, felt that Mr Howlin was going to play "the subsidiarity card" to justify the Irish stance, which "could prove to be a bad road to travel down" and set a dangerous precedent.
A majority of city councillors led by the mayor, Mr Micheal O hUiginn (FF), expressed delight at the decision. "We are relieved.
We came to a democratic decision based on the knowledge that was available to us. It was not an easy decision," he said.
The delay in the project was a source of frustration, the city manager, Mr Joe Gavin, said.
The decision marked the end of a 25 year campaign to have a proper sewage plant in the city and would end a nightmare for people living in the Claddagh area, near where large volumes of raw sewage were being discharged into the sea, Mr Martin Connolly (PD) said.
Two Labour Party councillors and Ms Margaret Cox (FF) whose late father, Tom Cox, helped establish SGB expressed disappointment. "It is the greatest mistake ever made in the development of Galway," Ms Cox said.
