Roger Fingas
Apple is petitioning Ireland's High Court to fast-track a legal dispute over its planned datacenter in Athenry, hoping to avoid a wait up to 18 months for a normal judicial review.
The company has specifically applied to be on the commercial list at the High Court, which can speed up disputes with over 1 million euros involved, the Irish Times said on Tuesday. That could shorten the wait to six months or less.
The motion will be heard by the High Court on Nov. 7.
Apple first announced plans for the Athenry datacenter in Feb. 2015. While the project has had private and governmental support — crucially, from Galway County Council and An Bord Pleanála — it has also faced a number of objections over concerns like power use, potential flooding, and disruptions to local wildlife and livestock. The request for a High Court judicial review stems from three private objectors.
Ireland was originally expected to play home to Apple's first European datacenter, but a Danish center — announced at the same time as the Irish one — is now set to be the first, since construction on it is already underway.
If and when it's finished Athenry datacenter is expected to cost at least 850 million euros, and eventually grow to up to eight halls.
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3 Comments
I can say this as an Irish man - but I would be off to northern Sweden if it was me.
Here you have Apple brings jobs to the EU and they want to go back in time and force a collection on pass earning. I love these places, they do not want anyone messing with their view of the land, and they want the government to take care of them for the entire life but have no concept where all the money comes from to allow these people not to work and look at the pretty land.
Near me, a new natural gas pipe line is being propose and people who do not even live near its location (it is buried 8 feet under the ground so nothing to see once installed) are protesting claim all kinds of horrible thing will happen disruption to wildlife, and flooding and ground water contamination and the list goes on. When you ask these people how they heat their home, they look at you dumbfounded, and ask them if you turn their gas off and how they would feel about it.
People in the west of Ireland keep complaining about lack of infrastructure but then this happens.
The system seems nonsensical. The local authorities agree. The nationally constituted planning board agrees. But an objection can still be appealed to a court in a civil case, a court who aren't planning experts and will probably agree with the planning board experts. It seems that one objection can cause a case review (there are only 3 here) and part of it is a nuisance factor because it causes a delay. 18 months for some projects. This must stop some lesser projects entirely.
A total busybodies charter.