MEATH COUNTY Council has been ordered by Ombudsman and Information Commissioner Emily O’Reilly to pay €13,000 and issue an apology to a couple for failing to address complaints it received over the unauthorised use of a shed.
In a report published yesterday, Ms O’Reilly described the council as engaging in poor and unsound administration in its treatment of the couple who complained about the unauthorised existence of the premises next to their home in Donore close to Drogheda.
This was despite 17 inspections and incontrovertible evidence that the shed development was unauthorised.
Ms O’Reilly said “I found fundamental shortcomings in the overall management and direction of the council’s enforcement section and it failed at every opportunity presented to it to deal effectively with the totality of the unauthorised development.”
She was responding to a complaint made to her office over the use of a shed for commercial purposes which, it was stated, was functioning without planning permission from August 2000 to November 2005.
Numerous complaints were made to Meath County Council by the couple and their neighbours.
By December 2005, the council claimed it could not take action as the shed had been erected for over seven years and the law ruled out enforcement action for that reason.
In her report Ms O’Reilly said “Allowing the retention of a structure without any permissions in place, which in itself has been the subject of numerous persistent complaints, does serious damage to the integrity of the planning process and undermines public trust and confidence.”
In response, a spokeswoman for Meath County Council said “Meath County Council acknowledges the publication by the ombudsman of an investigation report regarding an unauthorised development in Co Meath and wishes to state that the implementation of the recommendations as outlined in the report, is in progress.