A helicopter pad built beside a house in Louisburgh, Co Mayo, belonging to Chieftains flautist Mr Matt Molloy has given rise to a number of complaints. Mayo County Council and the Minister for the Environment have received letters objecting to the helicopter pad, which was built without planning permission.
The building of the house itself caused controversy in 1997, when Mr Molloy and Mr Brian Keenan applied - under the name Old Head Investment Ltd - for planning permission for two houses on a site at Old Head Woods, Louisburgh.
Planning permission was initially refused on the grounds that the proposed site was part of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
However, it was subsequently designated as a plot of land just beside the SAC and the council granted planning permission for the houses, on condition that there would be no interference with the special amenity area.
Mr John Jameson, a regular visitor to Louisburgh who enjoys hill-walking in the area and who has complained to the council about the helicopter pad, said his main objection was the development's interference with the SAC and the lack of respect shown for this protected area.
"The whole area around it is a SAC. I have brought a number of architects with me to view the house and they have told me they have never seen a development that breaches more planning regulations than this one.
"The houses are breaking the skyline, they are on top of a hill. It's in a very sensitive area that is teeming with birdlife. I just think the whole thing is at odds with what is a SAC, which is supposed to be left alone as much as possible, but this development is just about two yards from it. It is completely inappropriate.
"It all just begs the question, what are SACs - are they just meaningless? Are we really serious about them at all? Now there is a helicopter pad, what will it be next, a rocket launcher?" he asked.
Mr Jim Cooke, a Dublin resident who owns a house in Louisburgh and who complained to the Minister for the Environment, said surely it could not be possible for an individual in a sensitive area such as this one to construct a helicopter landing pad without permission. He requested that the Minister look into the matter immediately.
Mayo County Council is examining the situation. A spokesman for the council said the helicopter pad may be exempted from planning permission, as are driveways and other attachments to homes.
Mr Matt Molloy has been on tour in America recently and was unavailable for comment.