Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has signalled that he is going to legislate to tighten the judicial review process, so that applicants "have an actual interest in the [planning] process" rather than undertaking action to "suit their own agenda".
Speaking in north Cork, he said it was "abhorrent to the common good" that vital infrastructural and housing projects were being held up by technical breaks of statutory rules or legal procedure.
"I think we need to ensure that when it comes to judicial reviews the common good is taken into account as opposed to just the technical violation of a statutory scheme or not," he said.
The new proposals, the minister indicated, would "re-balance the rights of the public at large with the rights of individuals".
Minister O'Callaghan added: "The laws of our Republic must serve our people, not act as barriers to their progress.
"The challenges the State faces today in the delivery of housing and infrastructure are being compounded by the utilisation of our laws in certain circumstances to delay, obfuscate and undermine the efficient delivery of vital projects which would benefit our communities and the common good as a whole," he said.
He made the comments while addressing the annual commemoration of the War of Independence and Civil War leader, General Liam Lynch, in Kilcrumper in north Cork.
