A former attorney general is taking a legal challenge against the construction of the Slane bypass in Co Meath.
It comes after a planning application for the bypass was granted by An Coimisiún Pleanála at the start of July.
However, papers lodged with the High Court show that former attorney general, John Rogers, who lives in the Slane area, has taken a judicial review against the project going ahead.
Mr Rogers served as attorney general, the government’s legal adviser, from 1984 to 1987 under taoiseach Garret FitzGerald and his Fine Gael-Labour coalition.
It is understood that the legal challenge is two-pronged and cites adverse effects that Mr Rogers argues the bypass will have on his own lands, but also the proposed road’s close proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage site that includes Newgrange.
The project would see the construction of a 3.5km long bypass around Slane village and includes a dual carriageway as well as a 258 metre-long bridge over the River Boyne.
The approved application also includes a plan to develop public spaces around the village. The High Court has fixed a hearing date for the legal challenge for the middle of January of next year.
Slane is located at the crossroads of two major arteries for traffic – the N2 which links Dublin to Derry and the N51 which links Delvin, Co Westmeath, to Drogheda, Co Louth, via Navan.
It was previously estimated that around 17,000 vehicles travel through the village every day via the N2 and N51.
Multiple calls to develop a bypass to address road safety concerns have been made over the past decades.
In December 2023, local residents erected 23 crosses on the wall of Slane Bridge to commemorate the 23 lives that had been lost on the stretch of road, which has a particularly steep gradient.
The latest setback for the project comes after a previous planning application for the bypass was refused permission.
In 2012, An Bord Pleanála rejected plans for a bypass saying it was within the viewshed of the UNESCO World Heritage site of the Brú na Bóinne complex, which includes the Neolithic passage tomb, Newgrange.
Meath County Council said that the previous reasons for planning being refused had been taken into account by the project team in its most recent application as had changes to design standards, Government policies and environmental legislation.
The Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council has said he is “bitterly disappointed” that a legal challenge has been taken against the construction of the bypass.
Councillor Wayne Harding, who is a Slane resident and has campaigned for the project for years, said: “While I am bitterly disappointed that there has been a judicial review sought into the bypass of Slane village, I welcome that the date [for the hearing] has been set so quickly.
“The scheme was granted planning permission, having stood up to extraordinary scrutiny, and I have absolutely no doubt it will pass this further impediment and finally, lead to the dangerous N2 been taken out of Slane village and millions of euro being invested in Slane’s public realm,” Cllr Harding added.
Mr Rogers attended Trinity College Dublin and the Honorable Society of King’s Inns. He was called to the Bar in 1973 and was appointed a Senior Counsel in 1984. He was subsequently appointed attorney general in December of the same year.
