My 'Environmental Studies' university lecturer (ain't a man to mess with) whose an expert in planning law & who has no qualms about sueing people/state bodies right left & centre if they break the planning laws (including Shannon airport for building a new terminal without the requisite sewage system in place (no dumping it into the estuary untreated is not acceptable) says "The only people who can afford to take legal action in Ireland are the very poor & the very rich" because the odds are so stacked against them. If you're middle of the road with middle of the roads assets ya'll probably end up sleeping in a council house or under the stars & cycling an oul rothar. There's democracy in practice for you, more like a bl**dy dictatorship if you ask me.
Emerald