Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council was yesterday accused of having made a concerted effort not to discuss with Jackson Way Properties Ltd plans for a motorway passing through its lands.
The accusation was made by Mr Hugh O'Neill SC, for Jackson Way, at an arbitration hearing in Dublin which is being held to determine how much compensation should be paid to the company following the acquisition by compulsory purchase order (CPO) of 20 acres of its lands by the council for the construction of the South-Eastern Motorway.
"There has been a singular unwillingness on behalf of the local authority to discuss this," Mr O'Neill said. He asked the council's senior engineer, Mr John McDaid, why this was so.
Mr McDaid said that he had had discussions with Jackson Way's solicitor, Mr Stephen Miley. However, he accepted that there had been less discussion in this instance than would normally take place with a landowner affected by a CPO.
Mr O'Neill asked if there had been instructions "from above" not to engage with Jackson Way. "I received no such instructions," Mr McDaid replied.
Mr O'Neill went on to ask the engineer about the access road which would be provided to Jackson Way lands when the motorway was built. Mr McDaid said that it was a 9.3-metre corridor, but he could not say if a verge or footpath would be provided on either side of it.
Earlier, Mr McDaid acknowledged that it took six years from the time the go-ahead was given for the motorway from the Department of the Environment before plans for it were submitted to the Department. He denied that this was an "inordinate delay".
The South-Eastern Motorway will cut in two lands owned by Jackson Way at Carrickmines in south Dublin. The land, which runs to over 100 acres, is mainly zoned agricultural, with a small portion zoned industrial.
Jackson Way, which is under investigation by both the Flood tribunal and the Criminal Assets Bureau, argues that, were it not for the motorway, all its lands would be zoned residential and would be worth significantly more. It therefore wants its compensation to be based on the residential value of the land rather than the much lower agricultural value put on it by the council.
The hearing continues today.