Ambiorix Ltd v Minister for the Environment (No. 2)
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Lynch J. |
| Judgment Date | 01 May 1992 |
| Neutral Citation | 1992 WJSC-HC 1377 |
| Court | High Court |
| Docket Number | No. 7982P/1990,[1990 No. 7982P] |
| Date | 01 May 1992 |
BETWEEN
AND
1992 WJSC-HC 1377
THE HIGH COURT
Synopsis:
CONSTITUTION
Statute
Validity - Designated area - Declaration - Order - Benefits - Remission of rates - Tax concessions - Whether order made ~ultra vires~ Minister - Developers of other areas handicapped - Severance of order - (1990/7982 P - Lynch J. - 1/5/92) - [1992] 2 I.R. 37
|Ambiorix Ltd. v. Minister for the Environment|
MINISTER OF STATE
Powers
Exercise - Statute - Validity - Urban renewal - Designated area - Order - Benefits - Remission of rates - Tax concessions - Whether order made ~ultra vires~ Minister - Whether order was unlawful legislation - Developers of other areas handicapped - Severance of order - Urban Renewal Act, 1986 (Designated Areas) Order, 1990 (S.I. No. 204) - Finance Act, 1986, ss. 41–45 - Urban Renewal Act, 1986 ss. 6, 7 - Constitution of Ireland, 1937, Article 15 - (1990/7982 P - Lynch J. - 1/5/92) [1992] 2 I.R. 37 1993 15 DULJ 134
|Ambiorix Ltd. v. Minister for the Environment|
ORDER
Effect
Severance - Urban renewal - Designated area - Declaration - Benefits - Remission of rates - Tax concessions - Whether order made ~ultra vires~ Minister - Developers of other area handicapped - Order not severable - (1990/7982 P - Lynch J. - 1/5/92)
|Ambiorix Ltd. v. Minister for the Environment|
CONSTITUTION
Legislation
Oireachtas - Powers - Exclusivity - Statute - Minister of State - Authority - Orders - Whether Ministerial order was unlawful legislation - (1990/7982 P - Lynch J. - 1/5/92) - [1992] 2 I.R. 37
|Ambiorix Ltd. v. Minister for the Environment|
Citations:
URBAN RENEWAL ACT 1986
URBAN RENEWAL ACT 1986 (DESIGNATED AREAS) ORDER 1990 SI 204/1990 SCHED PART 11
URBAN RENEWAL ACT 1986 S6
URBAN RENEWAL ACT 1986 S6(2)
URBAN RENEWAL ACT 1986 S7
URBAN RENEWAL ACT 1986 (REMISSION OF RATES) SCHEME 1990 SI 205/1990
FINANCE ACT 1987 S27
FINANCE ACT 1987 (DESIGNATION OF URBAN RENEWAL AREAS) ORDER 1990 SI 206/1990
MAHER V AG 1973 IR 140
HOGAN & MORGAN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW 2ED 388
HOWARD V MIN FOR AGRICULTURE 1990 2 IR 260
MCLOUGHLIN, STATE V EASTERN HEALTH BOARD 1986 IR 416
CONSTITUTION ART 15.2.1
FINANCE ACT 1986 S41
FINANCE ACT 1986 S42
FINANCE ACT 1986 S43
FINANCE ACT 1986 S44
FINANCE ACT 1986 S45
FINANCE ACT 1986 SCHED 4
FINANCE ACT 1990 S30
FINANCE ACT 1990 S31
FINANCE ACT 1986 SCHED 4 PART III
FINANCE ACT 1986 SCHED 4 PART IV
FINANCE ACT 1986 SCHED 4 PART V
FINANCE ACT 1986 SCHED 4 PART VI
FINANCE ACT 1986 SCHED 4 PART VII
FINANCE ACT 1986 CH V
CITYVIEW PRESS LTD & ANOR V ANCO & ORS 1980 IR 381
CASSIDY & ORS V MIN FOR INDUSTRY & COMMERCE 1978 IR 297
MCDAID V SHEEHY 1991 1 IR 1
HARVEY V MIN FOR SOCIAL WELFARE 1990 ILRM 185
EAST DONEGAL CO-OP V AG 1970 IR 317
COOKE V WALSH 1984 IR 710
O'KEEFFE V BORD PLEANALA 1992 ILRM 237
ASSOCIATED PROVINCIAL PICTURE HOUSES LTD V WEDNESBURY CORPORATION 1948 1 KB 223
PADFIELD V MIN FOR AGRICULTURE 1968 1 AER 694
COLLEEN PROPERTIES V MIN OF HOUSING 1971 1 AER 1049
CAHILL V SUTTON 1980 IR 269
MCGIMPSEY V IRELAND 1990 1 IR 110
CONSTITUTION ART 15.2
FINANCE ACT 1988 S26
KEEGAN, STATE V STARDUST TRIBUNAL 1986 IR 642
Judgment of Lynch J. delivered the 1st day of May 1992.
The Plaintiffs" claim in this Action is to quash so much of an Order made on the 2nd of August 1990 by the first Defendant the Minister for the Environment (The Minister) with the consent of the second Defendant the Minister for Finance as purported to designate for the purposes of the Urban Renewal Act 1986a site the property of the fifth Defendants (Irish Life) situate at George's Quay in the City of Dublin. The site in question is part of the area first described in Part II of the Schedule to the said Order which is Statutory Instrument No. 204 of 1990 under the heading "George's Quay/Townsend Street area".
The Action was commenced by a Plenary Summons issued on the 31st of May 1990 before the making of the said Order on the 2nd of August 1990 but after the public announcement at the begining of May 1990 of the intention to make the Order. I deal with the matter in this Judgment as I dealt with it at the trial before me that is to say as though the Order was in existence at all material times for the purposes of this Action. I heard the case over a period of seven Court days commencing on Wednesday the 18th of March and concluding on Friday the 27th of March 1992 when I reserved my Judgment.
The Plaintiff Companies are all property developers and are the owners of various sites in south Dublin City which at the time of the proceedings they had recently developed or were in the course of developing. The first Plaintiff in or about 1986 purchased the Bolands Mills site at Lower Grand Canal Street in the City of Dublin where it was in the course of developing 170,000 square feet of commercial and office letting space.
The second Plaintiff is an unlimited Company and between 1969 and 1972 it purchased approximately 180,000 square feet of site area bounded by Lower Leeson Street Earlforts Terrace and Lower Hatch Street in the City of Dublin where it was in course of constructing and developing 107,652 square feet of commercial and office letting space and had approval for a further 55,566 square feet of such space upon which development had not yet started.
The third named Plaintiff in or about the year 1988 purchased some 11 acres of site area at the hospital sweepstake site at Ballsbridge in the City of Dublin where it is developing approximately five and a half acres for commercial and office letting purposes and has already commenced construction and is in the course of developing 180,000 square feet of commercial and office letting space at the said property.
The fourth named Plaintiff in or about the year 1988 purchased a site area of some 21,000 square feet at Percy Place in the City of Dublin where it was in the course of constructing and developing some 50,000 square feet of commercial and office letting space.
Irish Life's site is also situate in South Dublin City. It is shown on maps proved in Court and in particular on a black and white map dated January 1984 produced by Mr. Kieran O'Malley and a coloured map dated July 1990 produced by Mr. Ian Duff. The site may be roughly described as a rectangle bounded on the North by George's Quay, on the East by Moss Street, on the South by Townsend Street and on the West by Luke Street and is crossed by the railway line linking Westland Row and Amien Street Railway stations. There is however a fairly small triangular plot to the West of Luke Street bounded by the Railway line on it's West by George's Quay on it's North and by Luke's Street on it's East which is also the property of Irish Life and on the otherhand there is a small rectangular plot at the South West corner of Irish Life's site on the corner of Townsend Street and Luke Street on which there are dwellings numbered 21 to 24 and this small rectangular plot is not the property of Irish Life. Strictly speaking Number 7 Moss Street which contains 8 dwelling apartments is not the property of Irish Life either. It is the property of Dublin Corporation but the Corportion have agreed to transfer it to Irish Life on terms including the building of alternative residential accommodation.
The property first described in Part II of the Schedule to the Order of the 2nd of August 1990 S.I. No. 204 of 1990 under the heading George's Quay/Townsend Street area is described as follows:-
"that part of the county borough of Dublin bounded by a line commencing at the point (hereafter in this description referred to as the first mentioned point) where Moss Street joins Townsend Street, then continuing in a westerly direction along Townsend Street to the point where it intersects Tara Street, then continuing in a northerly direction along Tara Street to the point where it intersects Poolbeg Street, then continuing in a westerly direction along Poolbeg Street to the point where it joins Hawkins Street, then continuing in a northerly direction along Hawkins Street and the northerly projection thereof to the point where it intersects the River Liffey, then continuing in a easterly direction along the River Liffey to the point where it is intersected by Talbot Memorial Bridge, then continuing in a southerly direction along Talbot Memorial Bridge and Moss Street to the first mentioned point."
The foregoing area along with extensive areas to the East thereof in former years enjoyed prosperity through activities associated with the usage of the South Dublin Quays by shipping. With the gradual reduction in port activity in the South Quays and the movement away of virtually all Dublin port activity to the East end of the North Quays, the areas alongside the South Quays deteriorated and became dilapidated. By the early 1970's the Irish Life site was in a poor condition with dilapidated buildings and little business activity. Irish Life assembled their site between 1973 and 1982 since when the site has been more or less vacant with parts used at times as a scrap yard and other parts as a car park and like activities. No issue arose in the proceedings before me but that the Irish Life site is in need of development or renewal.
The issues which arose on the trial before me fall broadly speaking under four headings namely:-
(1) The locus standi of the Plaintiffs to maintain this Action.
(2) The constitutionality of Section 6 of the Urban Renewal Act 1986.
(3) Whether the Order of the 2nd of August 1990 S.I. No. 204 of 1990 insofar as it purported to designate the Irish Life site was ultra...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Carrigaline Community Television Broadcasting v Min Justice & Min Energy & Communications
...597 HEANEY V IRELAND 1994 2 ILRM 421 CITYVIAW PRESS LTD V ANCO 1980 MCDAID V SHEEHY 1991 IR 1 AMBIORIX LTD V MIN FOR ENVIRONMENT (NO 2) 1992 2 IR 37 MEAGHER V MIN FOR AGRICULTURE 1994 1 IR 329 O'BRIEN V MANUFACTURING CO LTD 1973 IR 334 NOVA MEDIA SERVICES LTD V MIN FOR POST & TELEGRAPHS ......
-
Burke v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform
...AND LAW REFORM AND OTHERS DEFENDANT Citations: MURPHY V CORPORATION OF DUBLIN 1972 IR 215 AMBIORIX LTD V MIN FOR ENVIRONMENT (NO 2) 1992 2 IR 37 BREATHNACH V IRELAND 1989 IR 489 Synopsis: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Discovery Professional privilege - Criminal law - Assault allegation - Appeal......