I understand from Údarás na Gaeltachta that planning permission was granted in January 1989 to adapt a factory as a salmon packing unit in Cill Chiaráin, County Galway. This included permission for a new effluent treatment plant that would comply with the Water Pollution Act 1977. On complying with the conditions of the planning permission, Cill Chiaráin Éisc Teoranta, the company operating this factory, was granted an effluent discharge licence.
Following a review of this licence in 1999, Galway County Council issued a new licence the following year with more stringent quality standards. As the effluent treatment plant in use at the time was not designed to meet the revised standards, Údarás, as owner of the factory, approved funding of €495,198 to upgrade the treatment plant and undertook the upgrading in accordance with its understanding that the work was necessary to enable compliance with the terms of the reviewed licence and it came within the provisions of class 21, exempted development, of the planning and development regulations for 2001.
However, an objection to this development was made to Galway County Council and after extensive discussions between Údarás and Galway County Council concerning the definition of what constituted an exempted development, the matter was referred to An Bord Pleanála. An Bord Pleanála issued its decision in December 2003 that the development did not qualify as an exempted development.
Accordingly, an application for permission to retain the development was submitted to Galway County Council and I understand that Údarás is at present preparing further information that has been requested by the council.
