A safety certificate relating to the service station complex in Creeslough, where ten people died in an explosion in October 2022, was reportedly 16 years out of date at the time of the tragedy.
According to The Times, lawyers representing those affected by the explosion discovered that the last known certificate had been issued by Donegal County Council in April 2005 and was valid for just one year.
The information was obtained through a Freedom of Information request to the council.
The newspaper reports that no further certificates were issued to Vivo Shell, the company operating the Applegreen service station, after the certificate expired in 2006.
A lawyer representing an injured party has raised questions about whether potential liability could extend to Donegal County Council and the State in relation to the oversight of safety inspections and licensing.
Donegal County Council has said it has fully cooperated with investigations into the explosion and that it would be inappropriate to comment further while those investigations remain ongoing.
