McDonald's drive-thru expansion in Ireland faces opposition

McDonald's is facing delays in its plans to open new drive-thru restaurants in Ireland. Appeals against the planning decisions have been filed by individual objectors in Westmeath and Waterford. Last month, local planning authorities approved McDonald's plans for drive-thrus at Lakepoint Retail and Business Park in Mullingar and Waterford Retail Park in Butterstown. McDonald's has also applied to open more drive-thrus in New Ross, Thurles, and Carrigaline. The company also wants to renovate its long-standing restaurant on O'Connell Street in Dublin, which opened in 1979. The approval for the new locations had little opposition until the appeals were submitted. The two objectors are Ray Leonard from Westmeath and Michael Feehan from Kilkenny. Both live far from the proposed sites. Feehan's objection argued that the drive-thru would change the character of the retail park and impact local restaurants negatively. He believes the new drive-thru will draw traffic away from the city center, affecting its vitality. Leonard made similar claims about the Mullingar location, stating it would hurt the town center's commercial health. Decisions on these appeals are expected in July.