Minister Charlie McConalogue has blasted An Taisce’s legal pursuit of Glanbia’s proposed cheese plant as “counter-productive and wrong-headed”.

Responding to questioning at Friday’s ICMSA AGM, the minister spoke at length on planning permission in general and the Glanbia case in particular.

An Taisce was never directly referred to, but Kilkenny dairy farmer Tommy Cooke asked the minister to comment on “the restriction on production caused by the ongoing and incessant objections to the the development of the Glanbia project in Belview”.

“I absolutely share your frustration on this, and I don’t know how anyone sees that it does any cause any favours to see what’s been happening there,” said Minister McConalogue in response. “The damage that it does in trying to add value and indeed to improve the sustainability of the milk we’re producing; it’s totally counter-productive and wrong-headed. But anyway people do have the right to object and that’s their legal right,” he continued.

Planning saga

An Taisce appealed Kilkenny County Council’s decision to grant planning to a cheese plant at Glanbia’s Belview site to An Bord Pleanála.

When that appeal upheld the planning, An Taisce sought a judicial review in the High Court. That found in An Bord Pleanála’s (and ultimately the cheese plant’s planning) favour.

Now An Taisce is bringing its case to the Supreme Court.

Effectively, An Taisce’s argument is that the negative environmental impact of the extra milk production required by the cheese plant should be taken into account by the planning process, but has not been.

The plant, if built, will produce soft cheese for the European market in a joint venture between Glanbia and established Dutch cheese manufacturer Royal A-ware. It’s over two years now since the original planning application gained approval from Kilkenny County Council.

Planning changes ahead

“The structure of our planning system is something that we do need to look at in real detail,” added Minister McConalogue.

“It’s something that the Attorney General has taken under his wing, and is doing a monumental piece of work on, right across the system in terms of consents and planning, so we can see how we can have a more integrated system that meets with legal obligations, but that is much more streamlined.

“In particular to address these situations where, through the legal avenue, you can frustrate something for for years and years, and stop something happening.”