A CIRCUIT Court order made in March that Tralee Urban District Council must provide a halting site for a group of travellers within a month was defective and should be set aside, it was claimed in the High Court yesterday.
Earlier this month, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Costello, allowed Tralee UDC to appeal the Circuit Court order. The judge said he was quite satisfied that the High Court had exercised its discretion in allowing the appeal to be brought.
Mr Justice Costello also ordered the group of travellers to leave The Basin in Tralee after he was told that their presence was holding up a £10 million development. He also suggested that the council provide the travellers with temporary accommodation.
Yesterday, Mr John Gallagher SC, for Tralee UDC, told Mr Justice Kinlen that three travelling families had left The Basin and were now encamped at a temporary halting site on the Listowel Road, just outside Tralee town.
Mr Gallagher claimed the Circuit Court order was unreasonable and should be set aside. He suggested a more reasonable period for the provision of a halting site would be 18 months to two years.
The order was also inappropriate and wrong because it provided halting site facilities for named defendants and the effect of this was to elevate them to the top of the council housing list, giving them priority over 287 families including 10 traveller families.
What had happened in this case was that individual travellers had been identified and the council ordered to provide accommodation for them without regard to any other individuals.
Mr Martin Giblin SC, for the travellers, said the Circuit Court order should remain because Tralee Urban District Council had known for several years that the problem was going to arise.
Mr Justice Kinlen said he would give his decision on the appeal today.