Clare County Council has come under fire for giving the green light to controversial plans for a 40 million euro hospital on the outskirts of Ennis.
At an Oral hearing by An Bord Pleanala this week planning consultant Brendan McGrath said the authority interpretation of its development plan amounts to a judgement that a 100-bed hospital could be located on any land zoned for development within the settlement boundary of the town.
Last year, councillors voted 28-3 in favour of the rezoning of lands at Woodstock in Ennis to give the developers, John Stack and Pat Bonner, the green light for the plan.
However, local residents appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála.
A decision is due on the plan later this year.
