STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
A junior minister is seeking to make a statement to the Dail about a Limerick planning application he made in 2001.
Fianna Fail TD Niall Collins says he acted correctly but TDs have called on the junior education minister to answer further questions.
Speaking in the Dail, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the TD wants to make a statement and has agreed to do so – though it is unclear when that will take place.
It follows allegations from The Ditch website about the application made by Mr Collins on the outskirts of Limerick city.
Fine Gael TD Damien English resigned from his junior ministerial role after the same site revealed he failed to disclose ownership of a Co Meath property during a 2008 planning bid.
Minister for Education Norma Foley joined other government figures in saying he had made information available.
“I’m sure he will have no difficulty whatsoever in answering any further questions that are put to him,” the minister told RTE.
Mr Collins released a statement on Monday night saying he “met the requirements for planning permission in the area”.
“In 2001, I applied to Limerick County Council for planning permission, in my own name, on lands owned by my father in Patrickswell, Co Limerick,” he said in a statement.
“At that time, I met the requirements for planning permission in the area – known as the ‘pressure area’. Separately the property I owned on the Father Russell Road in Dooradoyle, Limerick, was not in the ‘pressure area’.
“In 2004, I was elected councillor to Limerick County Council and thereafter the council introduced a new planning policy in relation to housing need.
“Tomorrow, I will request a copy of my planning application of 2001 from the council but I am satisfied that at all times I have acted correctly in my planning application and in my instruction to a planning agent in relation to the application on my behalf.
“The false statements made about me by The Ditch website are currently being examined by my legal advisers,” he said.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
