Details of a dispute over a plot of land on which Respond, the voluntary housing agency, proposes to build three houses for travelling families were outlined at an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanala in Ballina, Co Mayo, yesterday.
The development was commissioned by Ballina Urban Council and Mayo County Council.
The appeal against the development has been brought by Dr Aubrey de Vere Bourke and his son, Adrian, described as the beneficial owners of the half-acre site at Killala Road, on the outskirts of the town, and the Kilmore Residents' Association.
Dr Bourke is father of the former president, Mrs Mary Robinson, who is now the UN Commissioner for Human Rights.
Mr Dermot Flanagan BL, for the Bourkes, contended that the disputed land was in the ownership of the Bourke family, with Mr Henry C. Bourke the registered owner.
His clients and their families were people of long standing in the community and were deeply involved in the public development of the region.
They had given land for a church, a school for the mentally handicapped and the fair green for the boys' national school.
In or about 1972, the land in question was dedicated to the county council for road widening and there was no lawful authority to enter the land other than for that purpose.
"This is an entirely inappropriate location for the proposed development. It flies in the face of fundamental reasoning and common sense," said Mr Flanagan.
Ms Deirdre Connor, a planner with Frank L Benson, planning consultants, Dublin (with Mr Charles Kelly, solicitor), for the Kilmore Residents' Association, submitted that modifications made to the original proposal had altered the scheme.
Part of the site was zoned for community facilities, which excluded dwelling houses; the stream from which it was proposed to draw the surface water had insufficient capacity; and the surrounding area contained many monuments of ecclesiastical and archaeological interest.
Father Pat Cogan, director of Respond, said his organisation was particularly delighted to have been invited by Mayo County Council to develop the scheme.
Asked about the occupancy of families in such dwellings, he said there seemed to be a long-term stay, with the residents remaining full-time and the children attending local schools.
Mr Brendan Wyse, an inspector with An Bord Pleanala, said the board would issue its findings in due course.