When councils won’t act, communities turn to nature to get justice

Environmental law has become the last line of defence against unauthorised quarrying, writes Eugene Farrell

It is acknowledged in the review that some cases were in the system for long periods. For communities living beside these sites, the impacts are steadily eroding their quality of life. Picture: iStock

Across rural Ireland, a shift has taken place in how local communities fight unauthorised quarrying. Instead of relying on county councils — the legally responsible bodies —to enforce planning law, they are forced to pursue legal action through environmental and EU nature protection laws. Not because they want to, but because they have little alternative.

At the heart of the problem is a chronic failure of local authority enforcement.