A secondary school in Greystones, Co Wicklow, has brought a legal challenge to planning approval for a McDonald's restaurant located less than 100 metres from its front entrance.
Temple Carrig secondary school claims McDonald's Restaurants Ireland Ltd chose the location for its planned drive-through restaurant at Blacklion Neighbourhood Centre because it is close to three schools which expect to cater for 1,800 students.
The school alleges the decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant approval for the restaurant fails to take account of national policy concerning the health of children and to reduce childhood obesity.
The school claims the Government published a strategy in March 2013, entitled Healthy Ireland, a Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013-2025, which identified childhood obesity as a major public health issue.
Part of the remit of a special action group on obesity is an examination of how schools can influence healthy eating and responsible food choices.
A healthy eating policy is in force in the school which features the importance of food choices and applies criteria for food choice within the school involving more fruit and vegetables, iron and calcium rich foods and less fat, sugar and salt and other additives, the court heard.
Mr Justice Richard Humphreys granted leave for judicial review of the 30 September decision to grant permission for a development comprising the McDonald's restaurant, a health and fitness studio and a commercial unit at the Blacklion Neighbourhood Centre.
The proposed development is close to three schools on the Blacklion campus - Temple Carrig, Gaelscoil na gCloch Liatha and Greystones Educate Together.
The action is by the Temple Carrig Secondary School Board of Management on behalf of that school, Jarlath Fitzsimons SC, for the school, told the court.
After Wicklow County Council granted permission for the development subject to various conditions, the school and others appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
Their appeal failed and the board granted approval subject to 11 conditions.
Mr Fitzsimons said his client objected to the planning approval on several grounds, including that An Bord Pleanála failed to heed the mandatory requirement to have regard to relevant Government policies, including the Healthy Ireland Strategy 2013 and the National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2014.
Such policies represent a "high priority government objective", it is argued.
An Bord Pleanála was also required, under the planning acts, to consider the proposed use of lands beside a school but there is just 30m between the proposed restaurant and an avenue to the school and 89m between the restaurant and the school's front entrance, counsel argued.
It was also argued the board unlawfully took the view, because Wicklow County Council's Local Area Development Plan guidelines had not incorporated healthy eating policies, such policies were not an issue for consideration before the board.
A board inspector had in his report noted the council had said it had not decided to amend the Greystones/Delgany and Kilcoole Local Area Plan 2013-19 to limit the exposure of children to high fat foods.
The inspector also noted a wide mix of uses, including fast food restaurants, was permitted at the Blacklion Neighbourhood Centre site.
It is claimed the inspector erred in law in failing to have regard to the guidelines as a freestanding set of policies, notwithstanding that they were not specifically adopted in the Wicklow LAP.
Among other grounds of challenge, it is claimed the board failed to itself carry out an appropriate assessment, for the purposes of the Habitats Directive, concerning whether the proposed development was likely to have a significant effect on a European site.
