Galway County Council’s Planning Department has to answer queries over just 25 cases out of the 11,000 planning applications processed during the period of the controversial review ordered by Environment Minister John Gormley.

In a return salvo this week, the Minister and environmental watchdog group An Taisce were lambasted by county councillors as “despicable, mischievous, attention-seeking, malicious, sneaky, snide zealots”.

And County Manager Martina Moloney has refuted allegations of any planning irregularities within the Council.

She, her officials and Council staff received the unanimous support of councillors, who launched unprecedented attacks on their ‘line manager’, John Gormley.

Ms Moloney explained to councillors that less than a quarter of one percent (0.227%) of all applications received by the Council between 2007 and 2009 have been queried by the Minister.

“In the period 2007 to 2009, Galway County Council received approximately 11,000 planning applications. Of these, 450 (4.09%) were the subject of appeals to An Bord Pleanála and in approximately 242 of the 408 cases decided by the Board, the Council’s decision was upheld with our without modification.

“In the case of the County Council, the review announced by Minister Gormley requests that the Council examine correspondence received by him from An Taisce in respect of 25 individual planning applications," she added.

See full story and feature in this week's Connacht Tribune.