Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 October 2023
165. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications if his Department had any engagements with or made submissions to the Department of Justice with respect to the establishment of the new planning and environment division of the High Court; if he will share any submission made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43313/23]
View answerThe Programme for Government: Our Shared Future, includes the commitment, to ‘Review and reform the Judicial Review (JR) process, so that such reforms come into effect upon the establishment of the Environmental and Planning Law Court, while always adhering to our EU law obligations under the Aarhus Convention’.
The Government has prioritised this review and reform process in order to facilitate a more efficient JR system with respect to the planning system. The process has been ongoing on a broad front since the formation of the Government and has involved the cooperation of officials across a range of Government Departments and agencies, including my own Department.
The Planning and Environment Court, is the keystone of our JR reforms. With the expertise of its judges focussed on planning and environmental law, a more efficient approach and more consistent outcomes can be anticipated. Regular contacts between officials from my Department and the Department of Justice have taken place regarding the Planning and Environment Court to ensure that it will interface efficiently with the other related facets of the planning and environmental JR reforms, including the proposed Environmental Legal Costs Scheme.
My Department chaired the Inter-departmental Working Group on Legal Costs, which informed the new Environmental Legal Costs Scheme, which I announced on Tuesday 3rd Oct. Communication was maintained between the secretariat of this working group and Department of Justice officials responsible for the development of the new court.
My Department will take the lead in drafting the regulations which will provide the detailed legal basis for the new costs scheme. Officials from my Department will continue to work closely with their counterparts in the Department of Justice to ensure the smooth operation of the Environmental Costs Scheme in the Planning and Environment Court.
