Council hit with €215k legal bill

A LOCAL authority is facing legal bills running into hundreds of thousands of euro over harassment and discrimination claims taken on behalf of Travellers.

A judge ruled yesterday the Circuit Court had no jurisdiction to deal with 12 appeals against the Equality Tribunal which rejected discrimination claims.

Although the court ruled in favour of a Clare County Council application, Judge Tom O’Donnell made no order for costs against the Travellers.

With over 1,000 cases filed against the council, its legal bill is in excess of €215,000.

The costs to the council of dealing with cases before the tribunal has already come to €169,834, while the costs of meeting Circuit Court and High Court cases — before the latest case — associated with the tribunal comes to €45,865.

Traveller representative Heather Rosen has lodged the 1,000 complaints on behalf of the families.

Ms Rosen — who represented herself in court in the case — reportedly received funding of €64,000 from a Dublin-based private organisation, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, to lodge the complaints.

Counsel for the local authority, Pat Quinn, told the court it “has incurred substantial legal costs” in relation to the complaints.

Ms Rosen said the council “has been spending thousands of euro on legal representation from the start and we have had none. It is unreasonable”.

Chairman of the Clare Traveller Accommodation Committee, Cllr Brian Meaney said yesterday: “The decision of the court is welcome, but the costs to the council in dealing with these claims is a cost that the council can no longer afford.”