Creeslough families are 'troubled beyond description' over site redevelopment, solicitor says

Vivienne Clarke

The solicitor for the Creeslough families has said that they were “troubled beyond description" and the decision of the county council to press ahead with the proposed redevelopment of the site of the tragedy.

The families of the victims of the Creeslough disaster have said they plan to challenge “every aspect” of the permission granted to redevelop the site.

An application was submitted to demolish the existing building and replace it with a new structure that would include a forecourt, shop, post office, off-licence, toilets and a space for a memorial garden.

Donegal County Council granted permission to the submission by Vivo Shell Limited.

The council was behaving as “if this was a normal development case in respect of which planning permission was sought", solicitor Damien Tansey told RTÉ radios News at One.

“It's not a normal case by any stretch of the imagination. A tragedy of enormous proportions happened on this site. And clearly, the preservation of the evidence that is still on the site is of the utmost importance," he said.

“What does that tell with the other agencies of the state that are involved in forensic and detailed examinations, including the Gardai, the HSA and the Commission for the Regulation of the Utilities?

"All of those state agencies are involved in a detailed investigation. And we are informed that the conclusion of those investigations is some distance away. And the idea that one branch of the state would press ahead in circumstances where investigations are still ongoing is extraordinary.”

Mr Tansey said he thought it would be expected that an injunction might be sought with a view to securing the site, that would prevent any interference or intervention with the site.

The Creeslough families and their legal representatives had met with the (then) Minister for Justice, the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister for Transport in Government Buildings last year, at which it was brought to their attention that planning a planning permission was imminent and that in the circumstances steps should be taken to preserve the status quo until all investigations were concluded.

“One is entitled to expect that those three agencies are working in tandem, one with the other in terms of the investigation," Tansey said.

"It was also emphasised at that meeting that it was absolutely essential that the state should have been the only authority and the only entity with the necessary powers, the necessary standing to establish an inquiry, a statutory inquiry.

"And the families see it as their role in terms of vindicating their loved ones and vindicating the lives of their loved ones that this happens.”

Mr Tansey said the families accepted that Donegal County Council had made the decision on the grounds of proper planning and sustainable development.

“But it's the timing that they're concerned about. There were in excess of 30 objections to the planning application. And the families are not intent on blocking the planning permission per se.

"They are intent instead on ensuring that the planning permission and any development that might ensue pursuant to it does not happen until investigations are completed.

“At the moment there's a vacuum of information. They're not getting any information. And we're more than two years down the road. And how long more do they have to wait for the information?”

"The families want to be satisfied that the status quo will be maintained and that the site will not be developed “until the information that will be forthcoming from the three investigations that are underway is available. That's their position. They will then decide what their view is on how the site should be developed.”