Work on a new prison complex on lands at Thornton, Co Dublin, can continue on an unrestricted basis after a local man today withdrew his High Court challenge to the development.
Under terms agreed with the State, Richard Merne is to make a contribution, described by State sources as "substantial", to the State's legal costs in meeting his case.
However, although withdrawing his proceedings, Mr Merne of Dunwater, Newbarn, Kilsallaghan, stressed he was doing so without prejudice to his claim that the State must have a proper Environmental Impact Assessment carried out in relation to the site at Thornton.
If that was not done, he would bring a fresh case, he said. Mr Merne said he had withdrawn the present proceedings in light of an issue which had arisen regarding a major aspect of his case.
That issue was whether he had made a premature claim that the State had not complied with an EIA in relation to the development.
Mr Merne, a local authority engineer, had initiated his proceedings in April 2004, and the case has been before the courts via several procedural applications since then.
The full hearing of the action was due to open today before Mr Justice Thomas Smyth but, after talks between the sides, Mr Ian Finlay SC, for Mr Merne, told the judge in the afternoon the matter had been resolved on terms involving the proceedings being withdrawn on the basis of a contribution to the State's costs by Mr Merne.
The resolution of the case was also on the basis of the State withdrawing "clarifications" given to the court on December 15th last to the effect that no works involving heavy machinery on certain areas of the site would be done.
Those clarifications no longer applied, the judge was told.