A5 legal challenge to be heard next March

By Alan Rodgers

A FRESH legal challenge to the proposed A5 dual carriageway will take place at the beginning of March, the High Court has heard.

In court in Belfast this morning, Mr Justice McAlinden highlighted the road’s importance in terms of saving lives and connectivity on the island of Ireland and said that the matter should be dealt with swiftly.

Nine applicants have sought leave for a Judicial Review into the decision by Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd, to give the green light for the £2.5 billion road between Ballygawley and Newbuildings.

It is not known whether or not they are involved in the Alternative A5 Alliance (AA5A), which has been objecting to the scheme for almost two decades.

The Tyrone GAA’s ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign group has also been granted permission to participate in the hearing, which has been scheduled to take place over five days.

Senior counsel, Stephen Toal KC, instructed by Conor Sally Solicitors of Omagh, told the High Court that it was their intention to submit affividats representing those who had lost loved ones as a result of deaths on the road.

He said that the ‘Enough is Enough’ group was set up in 2022 following the death of Tyrone gaelic footballer, John Rafferty, and that it was representing dozens of families who jhave lost loved ones on the road.

Mr Toal KC added that they have made formal submissions to Stormont by his colleague Plunkett Nugent BL, the Dail and local councils and that they had also participated in the Public Inquiry held in 2023.

Mr Justice McAlinden told the court that the issues raised by the nine applicants needed to be dealt with swiftly bearing in mind the importance of the scheme in terms of connectivity on the island of Ireland and the saving of lives which the new road was intended to bring about.

He also stressed the need for no delays because the land required for the road was now legally in the ownership of the Department for Infrastructure after Vesting Orders came into effect during recent days. He added that this raises the issue of third party involvement.

Mr Justice McAlinden said that the Court ‘would look assiduously’ at all the issues involved in the case and that it was ‘vital’ that it is dealt with quickly.

He said the court would not refuse to receive information from those who have been directly affected by tragedy resulting from accidents on the existing carriageway.

The court was told that the challenge relates to scientific monitoring around the potential impact that the dual carriageway would have on Tully Bog, which is an Area of Special Scientific Interest near Strabane.

Among the issues to be decided is one of the disclosure of an an estimated 10,000 different scenarios which have been gone through by experts acting on behalf of the DfI.

The judge said that it was up to the nine applicants to the statutory appeal to decide how they would like to receive this information.

“If it is the data that they want, then it is the data that they will get. I presume they will say that they need an expert,” Judge McAlinden said.

“We need to move with this and have the case listed as soon as possible.”