Activist Eddie Mitchell believes it was an attempt to ensure environmental issues were decided in private

Environmentalists taking a legal challenge against a proposed gas terminal in north Kerry claim they were offered €1m to drop the case. They say such financial offers are commonplace in cases where large projects face years of delay because of legal objections.

The alleged €1m offer made by Shannon LNG group to Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) emerged during a recent European Commission hearing over whether the scheme should be kept on the list of projects of common interest (PCI). Keeping such designation allows projects to bypass normal planning processes and makes them eligible for European grants.

At a hearing this month, Eddie Mitchell, an anti-fracking activist, said the ability of environmental groups to get access to justice was “seriously damaged” by the offer