How a legal misstep cost taxpayers €650m and stalled essential infrastructure for years

The way the State works — or doesn’t — is impacting the quality of life and cost of living for thousands of people due to delays and lost opportunities, writes Mick Clifford

An Bord Pleanála had ‘failed to correctly identify and comply with the obligation imposed on it by Article 44 of the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations 2007’ over a planning application for a wastewater treatment plant in Clonshaugh, Dublin, a judge found in 2020. File Picture: Niall Carson/PA

Did you hear the one about the misstep that cost €650m?

Ireland’s planning and legal systems are under the spotlight in attempts to grapple the housing crisis.