DAA Case for Travelers to Move Out of Airport Runway Exclusion Zone Solved

The SUPERIOR COURT PROCEEDINGS filed by the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) on traveler families living in the exclusion zone around the proposed new north runway have been resolved.

The DAA had requested orders that included injunctions for vacant possession of land located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, which had previously been leased to the Fingal County Council, which joined the action, to house families of travelers.

He claimed that the lands are occupied by various members of the McAleer family, who, according to the DAA, have no right to be there.

The DAA said it urgently needed the vacated land in order to carry out work on the new runway.

The family members, who were represented by Quinn & Reynolds Solicitors and the Free Legal Advice Centers (FLAC), denied wrongdoing and opposed the DAA’s action.

Some of the families said they had been at the site for about 30 years.

The DAA also joined the council in the proceedings, where it claimed that the local authority had not surrendered vacant possession of the site, more than three years after the DAA served it with an eviction notice.

The request for precautionary measure, which had been presented to the courts on several previous occasions to allow extrajudicial discussions aimed at resolving the dispute, was due to be heard by the court today.

However, Brian Kennedy SC told DAA Judge Michael Twomey that, and that the matter had been resolved, it could be postponed to a date after Easter to ensure the agreement has been fully honored.

The terms of the agreement between the parties are confidential.

Previously, the court heard that the Minister of Transport, who owned the land before it was acquired by the DAA, issued a license in the 1980s that allowed the city council to use the site as accommodation for travelers.

The DAA extended that license agreement with Fingal Co Council until 2017, when it issued a notice of resignation. The land was required as part of the DDA plan to build a new runway.

When the vacant possession of the site was not surrendered, the DAA issued a proceeding against the Fingal Co Council in 2018.

Those procedures were suspended to allow the Council to get involved and find alternative accommodation for the people living at the place of detention.

As a result of that commitment, the DAA claims that while several of the travelers’ families left the site, others have stayed.

As a result, the DAA in 2020 initiated a new procedure, in which it seeks orders that include precautionary measures, against those currently on the site.

It also started a parallel proceeding earlier this month after another Traveler family allegedly moved to the site. Those were suspended after the family left the site.

Later, in a statement, FLAC, representing one of the Travelers’ families, welcomed the resolution of the dispute.

“The FLAC is happy with the resolution reached and satisfied that serious consequences for our client have been avoided,” he said.