The Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr Dick Roche, was "flying a kite" for the Government in suggesting that An Taisce should be deprived of its role as a prescribed body under the Planning Act, it was claimed yesterday.
Mr Frank Corcoran, acting chairman of An Taisce, said that if Mr Roche succeeded in his mission, the trust would not be in a position to take a stand against many developments which the Minister of State opposed.
Being a prescribed body in planning terms, An Taisce is entitled to be consulted by local authorities on all applications affecting amenities, heritage areas and natural habitats so that it can comment and, if necessary, appeal.
If it was to be "kept in the dark", Mr Corcoran said An Taisce would not be in a position to object to future planning applications for Powerscourt Demesne, quarrying at Glen Ding woods or legitimising illegal dumps in Co Wicklow.
Mr Roche said at the weekend that he believed the trust's "inconsistent and contradictory attitudes" on the future of Powerscourt, in particular, made it "imperative" to change the position it occupies under the planning laws.
He claimed that An Taisce had "failed to take action regarding Powerscourt over the past decade" while at the same time objecting to plans for one-off housing. It was "behaving like a 'directoire', completely removed from the locality".
But An Taisce pointed out that it had appealed against two major schemes at Powerscourt - a 278-bedroom hotel and 108 tourist apartments - and, in both cases, its arguments were upheld by An Bord Pleanála.
Mr Corcoran said it was An Taisce's prescribed status that allowed the trust to appeal against the 6,000-seat convention centre planned by Mr Jim Mansfield for his Citywest Hotel and Leisure Complex at Saggart in Co Dublin.
In that case, An Bord Pleanála ruled that An Taisce's appeal was valid because South Dublin County Council should have notified the trust of the planning application so that it could express its views on the matter.
"If An Taisce's prescribed role was removed, then the unauthorised development of the convention centre would have gone through," Mr Corcoran said.
"We also wouldn't be able to properly monitor landfill and incinerator proposals," he added.
