Madam, - The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, is to be admired for having had the gumption and resources to take on the might of the local authority planning system in his efforts to vindicate his rights as a citizen.
Many individuals, when confronted with apparent law-breaking by local authorities, are faced with the possibility of either going to the High Court and facing possible ruin or else accepting the tyranny of the administrative system.
The situation for most citizens is made all the more difficult because the courts are increasingly reluctant to intervene in any planning matters and are quite happy to allow an administrative system to perform judicial functions involving the delimitation of property rights, the denial of natural justice and the misuse of financial and other resources belonging to ordinary citizens without providing effective judicial redress.
This is not to mention the egregious interference by planning authorities in the professional realms of architects, engineers and others who frequently bear the liability for decisions made by planners for which the latter are prepared to take no responsibility.
At a recent law conference it was stated by a barrister specialising in planning law that "it is submitted that the current approach of the courts is such that the necessary checks and balances are not in fact in place in relation to the activities of planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála".
It is to be hoped that Mr McDowell's experience will alert the Cabinet to the serious breaches of civil liberties which are now appearing within the planning process. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL LEAHY,
Chartered Architect
and Town Planner,
Clifden,
Corrofin,
Co Clare.