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Bid to halt work on M3 rejected

The High Court rejected an application for an injunction order to prevent the continuation of the construction of the M3 motorway between Dublin and Navan. The injunction was applied for on the grounds that there were safety issues due to a female protester being inside a tunnel close to the construction site. Potential damage to a national monument linked to the Hill of Tara was another ground on which the application for the injunction was made.

Lead up to the injunction

The judge who presided over the case was informed that the female protester had chained herself to a jack inside a tunnel situated within an esker close to the site and that any attempts to remove the female protester could result in the tunnel collapsing.

These claims were rejected by the National Roads Authority (NRA) and they went onto assert that any delay with construction of the project would result in a cost of €330,000 for the taxpayer per week.

Who brought the application for injunctive relief?

The injunction application was made by a Dublin based building surveyor who claimed that the roadworks were endangering the area where the woman was trapped and that the resulting impact of heavy diggers passing over it could increase the possibility of the tunnel collapsing.
The building surveyor stated that a preservation order for the esker called "Rath Lugh" had been signed by the Minister for the Environment in February and as a result this preservation order was under threat.

Final ruling

Lawyers who represented both the Minister for the Environment and the NRA told the court that no work would be carried out on the area covered by the preservation order.
The judge dismissed the application on the basis that the applicant did not have a legal entitlement to bring an application on behalf of the woman trapped within the tunnel i.e. Locus Standi.

For further information on injunctions or any aspect of commercial law, please contact Malcomson Law by calling 01 8744422 or complete an Online Enquiry Form. A solicitor who specialises in this area will contact you to advise you of your legal rights and entitlements.

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