Environmental Law

A first-of-its-kind judicial review being heard in Northern Ireland's High Court today aims to force the Department of Infrastructure to resume carrying out exhaust emissions tests on diesel cars for the first time in nearly two decades. Hundreds of thousands of diesel cars have never received a leg

The Irish government has been urged to heed a new UN report identifying the climate crisis as "an urgent and systemic threat to children's rights globally". The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child yesterday launched its general comment on children's rights and the environment, which considers th

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed all grounds challenging a deep-sea gas cavern development project off the coast of Co Antrim. The court found that the decision to grant the marine license to the developers was a rational one, backed up by scientific evidence. Delivering the judgmen

The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) has recommended a series of changes to strengthen the draft environmental principles policy statement (EPPS) for Northern Ireland. The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) asked the OEP — which was established post-Brexi

Public bodies have been criticised for an "unacceptable" failure to comply with their obligations under Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) regulations. Ger Deering, the commissioner for environmental information, said his office's experience of reviewing decisions by public authorities o

Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under EU biodiversity conservation laws, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. The court yesterday handed down its judgment in the case C-444/21, brought against Ireland by the European Commission with support from the German g

Exorbitant costs are preventing individuals and community groups from bringing legal challenges to safeguard the environment in England and Wales, according to NGOs. A shared report by the RSPB, the Environmental Law Foundation (ELF), and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland sugg

A solicitor who objected to a strategic housing development in Limerick on environmental grounds has welcomed a decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for a second time. Limerick solicitor Michelle Hayes, president of Environmental Trust Ireland, said the proposed developm

Northern Ireland’s High Court has dismissed an application for judicial review brought by the owner of a trout hatchery who claimed that the Department of Agriculture failed in its statutory duty to conserve waterways. The court found that the respondent took extensive steps to comply with its

Northern Ireland’s High Court has denied two interlocutory applications sought by environmental campaigners challenging the development of a gas storage facility at Islandmagee. The first application was for a strike-out of various parts of the respondent’s evidence, and the second was f

The High Court has determined that certain environmental information relating to biomass imports by a Bord na Móna subsidiary must be disclosed despite being held by the subsidiary company. Bord na Móna (BNM) claimed that the subsidiary was not a public authority and was therefore exem

The Court of Appeal has determined that a company which engages in litigation to promote and protect the Irish environment was not entitled to legal aid from the State in order to pursue its cases. The court held that the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995 did not extend legal aid to corporate bodies. Deliver

A new "digital toolkit" for communities, campaigners and researchers seeking environmental justice has been launched by Community Law & Mediation (CLM) and Environmental Justice Network Ireland (EJNI). The Manual of Environmental Justice was developed following a comprehensive needs assessment c

The Supreme Court has held that the State unreasonably delayed the publication of certain environmental legislation in the Irish language. The respondents were seeking to challenge a compulsory purchase order for lands in the Connemara Gaeltacht and claimed that they did not have reasonable access t

Lawyers have welcomed progress on the setting up of a dedicated planning and environment division of the High Court. The government today announced that the establishment of the new court — promised in the programme for government — will be "completed as soon as possible" without the nee