Environmental Law

The Law Society of Ireland has joined the chorus of opposition to government plans to cap legal costs in environmental judicial reviews. The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment recently concluded a consultation on a scale of fees proposed under the Planning and Development Ac

A proposed new scale of fees which would effectively cap legal costs in environmental judicial reviews would seriously undermine access to justice, weaken environmental protection, and risk breaching constitutional, EU and international legal obligations, The Bar of Ireland has said. The Department

A proposed new scale of fees for environmental judicial reviews should be immediately withdrawn by the government, two leading environmental groups have said. An Taisce and Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) say the proposals published in December 2025 would effectively cap the legal costs that

A settlement has been reached in judicial review proceedings brought against the granting of planning permission for the €1.3 billion Greater Dublin Drainage (GDD) project. In a statement on Friday, Uisce Éireann said it had reached an agreement to settle the High Court proceedings prior

A proposed new scale of fees for environmental judicial reviews has gone out for consultation. Climate, energy and environment minister Darragh O'Brien said he expected to hear "strong and divergent views" on the scale of fees, which has been proposed under the Planning and Development Act 2024.

Ireland is in breach of its obligations under EU water protection law, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. In a judgment handed down last Thursday, the court identified serious non-compliances with the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), introduced in 2000.

An environmental group has launched High Court proceedings in a bid to access government documents relating to agricultural policy. Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) is challenging the refusal of the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Information (OCEI) to fully release four records r

Arthur Cox has appointed Mark Thuillier as a partner in the firm's environment and planning group. Joining from another major Irish law firm, Mr Thuillier brings a wealth of experience in environmental and planning law, with a particular focus on large-scale infrastructure projects in the housing an

Carson McDowell solicitor Sophie Hunter reviews a recent English court ruling with significance for developers of major infrastructure projects. In R (on the application of Associated Petroleum Terminals (Immingham) Ltd and Humber Oil Terminals Trustee Ltd) v Secretary of State for Transport [2025]

The High Court has indicated that it will refer questions concerning the principle of equivalence and the legality of charges for time spent by public authority staff in answering environmental information requests to the CJEU. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys ind

Northern Ireland should establish an independent environmental regulator, a new report has recommended. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) commissioned a review of environmental governance in Northern Ireland last November.

An environmental group has been granted leave for judicial review of a decision to grant planning permission for the proposed expansion of an alumina refinery in Co Limerick. Environmental Trust Ireland, headed by Limerick solicitor Michelle Hayes, has raised 11 separate grounds for judicial review

Northern Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) is seeking to intervene in a judicial review concerning the A5 dual carriageway project. The Department for Infrastructure is appealing against a High Court ruling from June which quashed a decision to proceed with t

Clark Hill lawyers Michael Laszlo and Declan McNulty consider different approaches in the EU and the US to sustainability and competition. The European Commission issued its first opinion regarding the compatibility of a sustainability agreement with competition rules for the agricultural sector on

Northern Ireland's Department for Infrastructure has served a notice of appeal against a High Court ruling quashing a decision to proceed with the first phase of the A5 dual carriageway project. Mr Justice Gerry McAlinden ruled at the end of June that the Department for Infrastructure had failed to