A PLEA against the controversial decision to put a sewage treatment plant on Mutton Island in Galway Bay will be heard by the EU's Petition Committee before the end of the month. The outcome could bring the issue before the European Court of Justice.
The petition was prepared by the Save Galway Bay (SGB) group which opposes the site and, according to the Dublin Labour MEP, Ms Bernie Malone, it has been adjudged a legitimate complaint. Ms Malone supports party colleagues in Galway who want a mainland site.
Last month the Minister for the Environment, Mr Howlin, approved the island site and said the Exchequer would fund the scheme if the EU did not provide money. His action drew a sharp response from the EU Regional Policy Commissioner, Ms Monika Wulf Mathies, followed by her announcement that Brussels would not finance the project.
MEPs from any member state will be entitled to make submissions on the project at the hearing. A submission will also come from Ms Wulf Mathies's office, which regards the location as environmentally questionable. It is known that Mr Howlin's decision caused anger in the Commission, which saw it as an unwarranted attempt to undermine its right under the Treaty of Rome to investigate perceived threats to the environment.
The Mayor of Galway, Mr Micheal O hUiginn, has claimed false information is being submitted to the Commission by opponents of the scheme. He said the debate was over, despite efforts to internationalise it. "A lot of lies and scaremongering is going around and it's not right. It is damaging to the city and the sooner this project starts the better.
Meanwhile, city manager Mr Joe Gavin, has rejected suggestions that a 900 metre causeway to the island was unnecessary. Mr Jim Mullarkey, a Labour councillor, had claimed that civil engineering experts had told him that the scheme could be built without a causeway.
City councillors are to have a special meeting where their questions about the project and concerns about the sewage treatment envisaged are to be addressed.