Roscommon County Council is to take legal action to stop unauthorised quarrying at Rahara, despite a letter sent on behalf of the Taoiseach to its enforcement officer asking for the enforcement process to be put "on hold".
The letter, sent last month, asked the enforcement officer, Ms Marion O'Grady, to put the case on hold until the quarry-owner, Mr Brian Murray, had completed a course of medical treatment.
Mr Murray's brother, Kevin, sought the intervention when he visited the Taoiseach's constituency office in Dublin. The letter was organised by the Taoiseach's constituency colleague, Senator Cyprian Brady.
Yesterday the county manager, Mr John Tiernan, said Ms O'Grady would not have been influenced by the Taoiseach's letter. "Indeed, the particular individual in question is a mature and well-experienced public servant and took whatever appropriate action subsequent to the letter, as she would have beforehand," he said.
Mr Tiernan was critical of the fact that the Taoiseach sent the letter directly to the planning enforcement official in question, rather than to himself.
The county manager stressed that the enforcement of planning law was "an executive function".
"Representations per se from politicians do not as a rule hold any standing in the process, unless they contain some information or detail relevant to the matters being prosecuted," he said.
A number of inspections by council officials in recent months had seen unauthorised activity on the site, and an enforcement order was issued on October 15th to cease all activity on the site. A further inspection carried out by council officials on November 18th found work was continuing at the site.
According to locals, up to 70 loads per day were being removed from the quarry in recent months, with each 30-tonne load worth between €150 and €180.
Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, adds:
The controversy surrounding Mr Ahern's decision to seek a delay in the closure of the quarry began to subside last night.
In the Dáil, he sharply rejected any imputation that he had interfered in the Roscommon County Council planning process.
Describing the Taoiseach's action as a "humanitarian" act, the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, said: "He did not ask them to change the rules." The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, supported her stance and said he did not see the affair as having any significance.
Defending his actions in the Dáil, the Taoiseach said: "I must say I am saddened to see that the opposition have sought to make a political football out of what was a compassionate gesture on behalf of a constituent."
Mr Ahern said the letter sent on his behalf by Senator Brady did not say that the activities at the quarry were in compliance with the planning code.
"It did not seek to influence the county council's interpretation of the planning laws. It did not ask that legal proceedings should not be taken," he said.
The Taoiseach's decision to respond to a Dáil question tabled by the Fine Gael TD Mr Bernard Allen last evening came as a surprise.
Earlier, the Minister for Defence, Mr Smith, representing the Government, refused to heed opposition demands for a Dáil statement by the Taoiseach.
The poor publicity led to a change of heart by Mr Ahern, who clearly decided that the controversy would continue into the Christmas period unless he acted.