A Cork horse trainer who was fined €50,000 for putting tonnes of construction rubble into a wildlife lagoon — turning it into a horse-track – could now face another huge bill to undo the work after a landmark High Court ruling.
Cork County Council had gone to court seeking the removal of the infill material part of the land reclamation works carried out by horse trainer and farmer John Collins as far back as 2014 in the Carrigtwohill area.
Infill comprising of construction and demolition waste was used at a site located at Brown Island, Ballintubrid West, near Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, within the Great island Channel special area of conservation and the Cork Harbour special protected area in a place known as Ballintubrid Lagoon.
Ms Justice Siobhan Phelan, in what is being regarded as a significant judgement in legal circles, last week said she would adopt a staged approach in making orders requiring the removal of waste, the restoration of the lands, the mitigation or remediation of the effects of unlawful waste activity and the discontinuance of the unlawful holding of waste.
The judge said the staged approach avoids a risk of making an order requiring works to be done in a manner which might potentially result in a breach of EU law.
In a first stage the judge said she will direct all preparatory works necessary for presentation of applications for all necessary development or other consents required to permit remediation measures. Mr Collins, she said, will have to comply with the council’s specifications in relation to the applications to ensure they are properly presented.
The judge said the case will come back before her when the new law term kicks off in October to allow for the making of initial orders and directions to ensure the progression of remediation works.
Five years ago, Mr Collins, who admitted putting tonnes of construction rubble into the wildlife lagoon to create practice gallops for his horses was fined €50,000.
John Collins of Brown Island, Ballintubrid West, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to disposing of waste in a manner likely to cause environmental pollution at his address on June 3, 2014.
High Court judge, Ms Justice Phelan in a judgement published last week said she could not refuse the relief sought by Cork County Council on costs grounds. The court had heard that the costs of the remediation was believed to be anything from €1m to €5m.
The Collins side had argued that the cost of the remediation works was disproportionate or an excessive cost on a small landowner. He also contended that the remediation works requested could carry risk of adverse environmental impact for existing habitats including the otter and bat species.
Ms Justice Phelan said the cost of the council’s proposed works are potentially ruinous for all but the wealthiest person. She said she was prepared to accept that the costs are entirely out of proportion to the likely value of the land in financial terms and would result in very significant hardship to Mr Collins if the works were ordered.
Mr Collins, she said, had persisted with “unauthorised entirely illegal works“ in the face of the planning and waste management enforcement proceedings pursued by the council against him in 2013 and 2014.
“He could have been under no doubt that his actions were unlawful. In the circumstances Mr Collins could not be entitled to any indulgence where in consequence he is now exposed to a very significant and onerous costs burden in properly remediating the effects of his willful wrongdoing,” the judge said.
She added:
Any other conclusion would not be in keeping with the polluter pays principle and the requirement to give effect to environmental protection measures.
The judge said enforcement of environmental law protection must be effective and “brazen flouting of the law cannot be tolerated.”
Ms Justice Phelan noted the €50,000 fine had been paid by Mr Collins and also the “extraordinary six-year delay” on behalf of Cork County Council in the commencement of the civil proceedings and that the case “remained in abeyance for four years”. The judge said the case was reactivated in June 2024 and “against this sorry background” it came before her for hearing.
The type of delay the judge said “suggests an unacceptable level of official tolerance for continuing breaches of the environmental protection code, including the requirements of EU law.”
The inertia, she said, which had dogged the proceedings was both “unpalatable and inexcusable” and she said inordinate delay certainly reflects poorly on the council in terms of the effectiveness of its enforcement of planning control. However, the judge said there was no basis for refusing relief because of the impact of delay on Mr Collins.
The case will come back before the court in October.