A solicitor says it's extraordinary for a Chief Executive of a County Council to be brought before the High Court to answer allegations of contempt of court.
Head of Roscommon County Council Eugene Cummins is being cited by Friends of the Irish Environment for the 'manifest breach of a remediation plan' which included sealing manholes and a pipe to remove excess water from Lough Funshinagh in the south of the county.
In August the local authority was ordered to cease its flood relief efforts at the former turlough, which the court ruled did not have the necessary environmental and planning authorisation.
But earlier this month, on foot of an order by Mr Cummins, the County Council initiated a scaled-back programme of works, using the same pipe and infrastructure.
Eoin Brady from FP Logue Solicitors, which is representing the environmental group says it's highly unusual for a public official to be brought before the High Courts in this way:
"It is extraordinary actually to have a situation where a chief executive of a local authority is being required to attend court in these circumstances.
Normally, it would be a situation where we have a private developer, so it is quite an extraordinary situation really.
He is required to attend in person and he's been served today.
The motion is in respect of his capacity as chief executive of Roscommon County Council who has authorized the new interim measures on the 14th of this month."
You can hear the full interview with Eoin here:
