Planning

The Supreme Court has, for the first time, clarified the implications of amended climate action legislation for bodies such as An Coimisiún Pleanála. Delivering judgment for the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Donal O’Donnell explained that s.15 of the Climate Action and Low Carbon

Alice Whittaker, Leonora Mullet, Rachel Minch, Alison Hardiman and Margaret O'Leary of Philip Lee examine a case where the Supreme Court is willing to make a mandatory order ordering a local authority to make a local area plan. The first Supreme Court decision of 2026 considers the requirement

All new proposals for new-build social housing projects up to €200 million will now be dealt with under a single approval process. The new system is intended to cut delays, streamline delivery and accelerate the construction of new social homes.

Legal costs associated with planning and environmental judicial reviews have increased dramatically over the past decade, a newly-published report has highlighted. The 78-page research report was prepared by law firm Fieldfisher for the the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) in December 2023 but

A number of reforms under the landmark Planning and Development Act 2024 have now entered into effect. The key reforms in the latest phase of the Act's commencement relate for the most part to local authority development plans and local area plans.

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

Government plans to place new restrictions on judicial review challenges to planning decisions have been branded "an attack on the rule of law".

New legislation is to extend reforms to planning judicial reviews to applications submitted under the earlier regime. Ministers have agreed to amend the Planning and Development Act 2024 to extend provisions relating to judicial reviews to decisions made or acts done under the previous Planning and

Dr Orla Kelleher pushes back against the narrative that judicial reviews are to blame for the housing crisis. In recent weeks, journalists, developers, tech entrepreneurs, the Minister for the Environment, and now even the Taoiseach have lined up to blame public participation in the planning system,

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

The High Court has ordered a quarrying company to remediate unauthorised works carried out in breach of a court order near the home of a Carlow family. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice David Nolan opined: “The development of a quarry adjacent to housing without any planning p

The High Court has identified a lacuna in the Planning and Development Act 2000 arising where judicial review proceedings are brought following a grant of planning permission. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice David Nolan noted: “It may well be that primary amending legislatio

The High Court has quashed a decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála which refused a grant of planning permission for a dwelling in County Dublin to a local woman who operated a nearby hairdressing salon. Delivering judgment for the High Court, Mr Justice David Nolan remarked that it was &ld

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

A major milestone for Ireland’s planning reform agenda has been triggered with the commencement of the latest chapters of the Planning and Development Act 2024. The latest commencements on Thursday provide the statutory basis for both the National Planning Framework (NPF) and Regional Spatial