Three years ago the planning authority turned down the company's initial proposal to build a modern explosives facility at Cahercon, Kildysart, citing concerns over possible damage to the environment.

That decision was welcomed by local opponents of the project along with the Friends of the Irish Environment group which had lobbied extensively for the rejection of the proposal.

Shannon Explosives claims building and operating the factory will improve the social and commercial fabric of the area. The company . . . a subsidiary of the Whelan Group . . . originally lodged an application for the construction of the facility in 2001. A protracted battle between the company and opponents of the project then ensued, with the planning authorities finally rejecting the proposed development on technical grounds.

The Whelan Group is the largest independent supplier of quarry products in Ireland.

It was founded in 1972 by managing director Patrick Whelan and has production facilities in counties Clare, Limerick, Roscommon and Cork.

The company employs around 280 people and has an estimated net worth in excess of 60m.

Terence Corry, spokesman for the Cairde Chill an Disirt Teoranta group (Friends of Kildysart Ltd) describes ongoing local opposition to the explosives factory project as "a David and Goliath struggle".

"We're in this for the long haul, " he says. "And we'll keep up our opposition for as long as it takes until plans for the factory are scrapped."

He says local opposition to the project is centred on three fundamental issues. "The explosives will be transported through the village . . . with all the attendant risk that involves. The Whelan group says the risk will be negligible but we say why should we tolerate any risk at all?

"The second big issue for us is the plan to use Cahercon pier as an import-export point. The department of justice is insisting on setting up a safety zone around the pier during transportation. For security reasons there will be no prior notification of when this will happen. It has always been a public pier and we're not prepared to tolerate any diminution of access to it.

"We're also concerned that if the factory were to go ahead it would have the effect of devaluing the land in the immediate vicinity because you wouldn't be able to get planning permission within the zone."

The Irish Airline Pilots Association also opposes the proposal claiming an explosives factory located close to Shannon Airport would constitute an unacceptable risk to air traffic.

Rejecting the initial application, An Bord Pleanala said it took the decision on the ground of "likely significant effects" of the 200,000 tonnes of material to fill the site on the environment, the local road network, adjacent houses and local amenities.

At the time, the Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) group, expressed concern at what it regarded as flawed reasoning behind the planning board's ruling, claiming that it did not take account of its own inspectors' report which recommended refusal.

FIE said it was unsatisfactory for the appeals board not to have ruled on the central issue of the "inappropriate nature and location of the proposed explosive factory.

"The inadequate decision may well condemn the local community to further years of expensive defence of their amenities, " the group said.

Meanwhile Shannon Explosives Ltd says it is ready to build a world-class, modern and safe facility at the location. Whelan Group managing director John McKeogh says there is now a strong demand for explosives due to the National Development Plan and its focus on road construction. The company has already spent up to 7m in its bid to have the factory built. In 2002 it paid out an undisclosed sum to acquire a Shannonside convent with 200 acres of grounds where the resident nuns had been objecting to the proposal.

"There is currently a national shortfall in the amount of industrial explosives needed to complete infrastructural development work for the building of roads and other important construction projects scheduled under the National Development Plan, " says John McKeogh.

"The existence of the proposed plant will reduce the Irish dependence on imported products and provide a more accessible supply of industrial explosives to quarries and developers located in the southern and western regions of Ireland."

An environmental impact statement lodged by the company with Clare county council claims that allowing the development to go ahead will result in long-term gains for the locality. It states: "As a result of the increased expenditure within the local area arising from increased income, it is likely that existing retail and service outlets in Kildysart will be commercially strengthened with a resultant underpinning of the social infrastructure of the settlement and the rural hinterland that it serves."

It goes on to claim that "the overall residual impact of the scheme on the human environment is likely to be positive, due to the large benefits that will arise from the proposed development.

"In relation to tourism, the proposals to landscape the site proposed for development and its environs will make it a more attractive place of resort for residents of the local community as well as tourists and will enhance its fishing potential."

A decision on the application is expected some time next year.