Clare County Council has denied that there was anything wrong in altering the official date-stamp on a planning application earlier this year for further development at the controversial golf course in Doonbeg.
Mr David McNamara, a resident of Parteen, Co Clare, claims that his right to object to and appeal against the scheme for a hotel complex, 48 houses and other facilities had been set aside as a result of this handwritten alteration of the planning file.
Under the Planning Act 2000, anyone making a submission on a planning application must do so within five weeks of it being lodged. Mr McNamara missed this deadline and, accordingly, his objection - the only one in this case - was ruled to be invalid.
Though the application from Doonbeg Golf Course Ltd was date-stamped "16 April 2002", the county council insists that it was actually received 12 days earlier, on April 4th, and that the delay was due to the need to "validate" that everything was in order.
A spokesman for the council said this process took approximately seven working days, "which would not be unusual for applications of this complexity". Having decided it was valid, as required by the Act, it then "retrospectively dated" the application.
But he conceded that Mr McNamara was given incorrect information when he phoned twice on April 9th and April 12th inquiring if the application had been received. He was told that it had not come in whereas in fact it had, but had not been "validated".
The council said it had no further contact with Mr McNamara until after May 9th, when he was informed that the five-week period had elapsed. It considered that, had he made contact earlier, he would have had "ample time" to make a submission.
He explained that he had a disability and was "in and out of hospital" during the initial five-week period. He also denied that he had "an axe to grind", as he is involved in continuing litigation with Doonbeg Golf Club Ltd over the ownership of half-an-acre of land.
Asked whether the council might have shown some leniency under the circumstances, its spokesman said this would have contravened the regulations specifying that any submission on a planning application must be made within the prescribed five-week deadline.
Even though the developers had sought the council's consent to extending the time for making a decision on the application until May 28th, 2003, Mr McNamara was informed in writing that he was "not entitled to make a submission on this application file".
He sought leave from An Bord Pleanála to appeal, but this was refused. Under the Planning Act 2000, all third-party objectors must make a valid submission to a local authority before they can lodge a valid appeal.
