{"id":488771,"date":"2026-06-08T09:32:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T09:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/488771\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T09:32:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T09:32:12","slug":"developer-facing-jail-benefited-from-ministers-planning-ruling-on-same-day-as-sentencing-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/488771\/","title":{"rendered":"Developer facing jail benefited from Minister\u2019s planning ruling on same day as sentencing \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sligo developer Cathal O\u2019Connor, who is facing two years in prison for a violent assault<\/a> on three teenagers, was the beneficiary of a Minister\u2019s planning ruling on the same day as he was sentenced for the attack.<\/p>\n

The May 1st direction from Minister of State for Local Government and Planning John Cummins<\/a> was part of a planning process not connected to the criminal case against O\u2019Connor, whose sentence starts next month.<\/p>\n

The direction from Cummins, a Fine Gael<\/a> TD, rejected a recommendation from Planning Regulator<\/a> Niall Cussen to bring in green-belt zoning for \u201cperipheral and unserviced\u201d land currently designated for business, industry and enterprise.<\/p>\n

This had the effect of supporting the value of a 2.29-hectare O\u2019Connor site in Ballysadare, value which could have fallen with green-belt zoning. The village is 9km south of Sligo<\/a> town.<\/p>\n

Ministers are empowered to reject recommendations from the regulator, but must set out reasons publicly.<\/p>\n

Cummins said the ruling on O\u2019Connor land was made on planning merits under a \u201cblind\u201d legal procedure in which he did not know who owned the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cSites were identified by number only,\u201d said the Department of Housing<\/a>, adding that planning law precluded the Minister \u201cfrom engaging with any representations on the matter\u201d.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor, of Beldare Homes, a major Sligo landowner, pleaded guilty in April to beating three 13-year-old boys in 2024 after finding them in a property he owned in a business park.<\/p>\n

Judge Keenan Johnson on May 1st imposed a five-year sentence, with the final three years suspended for six years. The start of the sentence was deferred for two months to allow O\u2019Connor to settle business affairs.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor remains a director of 23 companies. He received a character testimonial in the assault case<\/a> from former Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> TD Marc MacSharry<\/a>, who is a lobbyist for Beldare.<\/p>\n

MacSharry has declared multiple contacts for the company with officials, TDs and Ministers, saying in regulatory returns he lobbied Cummins and seven other housing and Government figures seeking \u201cfacilitation of additional zoning\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he declined to say whether he raised the Ballysadare site. \u201cYou\u2019ll appreciate we are bound by client confidentiality,\u201d MacSharry said, adding that he took his responsibilities to make regulatory filings extremely seriously.<\/p>\n

For his part, the Minister of State said he never engaged with MacSharry.<\/p>\n

\u201cMinister Cummins has never met or discussed any matters related to zoning of lands in Sligo with Mr MacSharry or Beldare Homes, despite repeated requests by Mr MacSharry to meet him and a representative from Beldare Homes,\u201d the Department of Housing said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn relation to questions posed about Mr O\u2019Connor\u2019s conviction, the Minister condemns in the strongest possible terms any crime committed against children and those who commit such appalling crimes must always face the full force of the law. His thoughts are with the victims involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Connor\u2019s many property interests include co-ownership with another Beldare director of a Ballysadare site known as PAZ-44. The current zoning for business, industry and enterprise allows commercial development.<\/p>\n

Still, the lands were subject to a Cussen recommendation which would have reduced scope for commercial exploitation if accepted within the Government.<\/p>\n

In a letter last year to Minister for Housing James Browne<\/a>, Cussen acknowledged \u201cexisting commercial use\u201d on the PAZ-44 site but called for geen-belt zoning. The area was not identified for new enterprise in the county development plan, Cussen noted.<\/p>\n

Green-belt zoning aims to protect countryside lands by restricting urban sprawl into rural areas. It can reduce a site\u2019s value significantly. <\/p>\n

Cummins\u2019s letter to the council rejected Cussen\u2019s recommendations in relation to the PAZ-44 site and five others not linked to O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n

In his statement of reasons, Cummins said business, industry, enterprise zoning for PAZ-44 was \u201creasonable\u201d.<\/p>\n

He cited the \u201clong-established\u201d use of the lands and road access, existing patterns of development and future planned land use in the area. He also noted councillors\u2019 power to set speed limits.<\/p>\n

Replying to questions, Beldare chief executive Barry White said \u201cexisting and pipeline\u201d housing projects will continue.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recognise the direction in relation to the lands which were proposed to be green-belted, and note that these lands have had commercial, business and enterprise use on them for over 30 years,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n

The Department of Housing said there was no provision in the Planning and Development Act \u201cto enable the Minister to directly receive, or accept, submissions\u201d on such matters, apart from Sligo councillors.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn receipt of a recommendation from the [Office of the Planning Regulator], the Minister is briefed on the recommendations by officials in the department and his consideration is restricted to the planning merits of the case before him,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a blind statutory process, and at no point in the process was the Minister aware of the ownership of any lands.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sligo developer Cathal O\u2019Connor, who is facing two years in prison for a violent assault on three teenagers,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488772,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12466,895,3775,61,60,7116,210054,2112,43,58356,14169],"class_list":["post-488771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-department-of-housing-local-government-and-heritage","tag-fianna-fail","tag-fine-gael","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-james-browne","tag-john-cummins","tag-marc-macsharry","tag-news","tag-planning-regulator","tag-sligo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488771"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488771\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}