Non-appointment of 18 judges 'barrier' to planning system functioning properly

The Government is currently trying to make it onerous for the public to access judicial reviews as it has been argued the planning process has been unnecessarily slowed by frivolous legal objections to worthwhile developments. File picture

Environmental advocates have claimed the Government is creating further delays in the planning system by failing to speed up the appointment of more judges.

Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) said the non-appointment of 18 judges promised in the Programme for Government represents a “real barrier” to a planning system functioning in a “timely” manner.

The judicial appointments were first announced in 2023 and approved by the Cabinet in April.

However, just two appointments are currently being processed by the Judicial Appointments Commission. 

Applications for that process closed on November 6.

“No explanation has been provided for the delay,” the FIE said.

The Department of Justice had not immediately replied to a query at the time of writing.

The Government is currently trying to make it onerous for the public to access judicial reviews as it has been argued the planning process has been unnecessarily slowed by frivolous legal objections to worthwhile developments.

Judicial review is the legal process by which a decision by a State body or representative can be challenged in court, not regarding the suitability of the decision, but in terms of whether or not the correct process had been taken in arriving at the decision in the first place.

The Coalition wants to take effective action against logjams in the planning system which are seen as a major impediment to addressing the housing and infrastructural crises.

Judicial review is the legal process by which a decision by a State body or representative can be challenged in court. File picture

Tony Lowes, director of FIE, noted however that the Courts Service “has recently drawn attention to the unaddressed extra pressure on the court staff, who like litigants face an ever-growing complexity of procedures”.

“The Courts Service Board’s 2024 report states that while extra judges have reduced some delays and cancellations, the system remains under strain due to resource shortages, now also affecting administrative staff,” Mr Lowes said, adding that “increased pressure is being placed on staff” as a result of that strain.

“FIE urges policymakers and the public to recognise that speeding up Ireland’s development, from new roads to local infrastructure, urgently requires the Government to fulfil and accelerate its promise for more judges and their administrative support,” Mr Lowes added.

The FIE noted that a recent challenge it took against a project aimed at connecting a motorway plaza with the Ennis wastewater treatment plant had been delayed by six months over a technical legal matter, with no judge available to hear it before February of next year.

“Blaming citizens who bring legal actions only distracts from the real capacity crisis within the justice system,” Mr Lowes said.

The latest actions by the Government aimed at kickstarting the planning process include plans to limit the amount of costs a successful objector could claim from the State to just over €30,000. 

Costs in long-running judicial reviews typically range over €150,000.

Last month, the Taoiseach said that in his opinion the "frequency of judicial reviews is excessive right now and, in my view, it’s undermining the common good".