Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I have quite incredible correspondence with me from Augustus Cullen Law Solicitors on behalf of Ardstone Homes Limited, which is a development and investment company. They are threatening letters to a Tidy Towns group, Ballyboden Tidy Towns Group, threatening to sue it for defamation. Why? It is because the group has stood up for proper planning against abuse of the SHD process and initiated two judicial review processes with Ardstone as a respondent. In the words of the Tidy Towns group’s solicitor, Fred Logue, the litigation threatened in the letter amounts to SLAPP, strategic litigation against public participation, in other words, bullying. To quote Mr. Logue, it is litigation aimed not at obtaining the stated relief, but rather calculated to intimidate and silence civil society, environmental defenders and persons exercising their fundamental rights. It goes on to say that it is a calculated attempt to punish Mr. Logue’s client for exercising its rights and to effectively shut it down. Will the Taoiseach condemn the abuse of the legal process to attempt to intimidate Tidy Towns groups which are attempting to stand up for their community?

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