Fine Gael and the Green Party look set to clash over planning reform, after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar gave strong backing to proposals being developed by Fine Gael Minister of State Peter Burke.
Mr Varadkar told the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last night that Mr Burke's plans "will happen, and we're going to make them happen."
The core of the proposals relate to measures to reduce the number of judicial reviews in the planning system, however the Green Party is known to have concerns about the approach.
The measures could also run into trouble with the European Union.
In the past few days, the Director of Environmental Implementation at the European Commission, Aurel Ciobanu-Dordea said that Ireland continues to be most expensive member state in which to make an environmental claim before the courts.
He said: "We are not drawing the attention of the Irish authorities to this for the first time. It has important consequences. And the Commission will act on this."
Earlier this week, Mr Burke said it is important to "curb the industry" of judicial reviews of planning decisions.
He said that An Bord Pleanála is currently a notice party to 190 judicial reviews, adding that this is an increase of 375% from 2018.
Mr Burke said that one-in-four planned new houses are being blocked. He said that he did not have an exact number, but claimed it accounted for tens of thousands.
"We've also a situation in this country now where approximately nine out of the 40 High Court judges are permanently assigned to judicial reviews, so we need to reform the process and how we go through and engage with the planning process and also how we reform the way in which challenges are taken to the process," Mr Burke said.
He said that the proposal would result in "fair, objective changes" to the existing framework for legal appeals against planning decisions.
However, the plan was criticised by the Green Party spokesperson on planning and local government, who said that "rather than address the issues behind the increasing numbers of judicial reviews, the Minister appears to be aiming to exclude people from seeking justice".
"We need to be addressing the problem at source," Wicklow TD Stephen Matthews said.
He added that "removing access to justice on planning and environmental matters doesn't mean we will get a better or faster planning system, it just means some people will get away with poor planning decisions".
Proposals make it 'harder' for citizens - Whitmore
Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore has said the proposals will make it "even harder and more expensive" for ordinary citizens to engage with the planning system.
She cited criticism from the European Commission official who said an Irish citizen considering undertaking a planning appeal would be "forced into the most expensive legal arena in Europe - the High Court."
Replying in the Dáil, the Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the programme for government contains a commitment to reform the planning process to ensure that it operates quickly, fairly, appropriately and in line with EU law.
He said under planning, a citizen can engage with their Local Authority and then appeal to An Bord Pleanála, something which is not expensive to make an observation.
However the Tánaiste said Judicial Reviews were only supposed to be on a point of law - not "re-hashing planning arguments" - however, some people were trying to turn such reviews "into something else" and this was "manifestly wrong."
Ms Whitmore said the Government's policy - Strategic Housing Development Plan - had "by-passed local democracy".
People were precluded from engaging with the local council and therefore An Bord Pleanála became the only avenue open to them.
She said 90% of cases appealed via Judicial Review were successful and this provided that the people who took the appeal were "100% right."
She said the problem was not people taking Judicial Reviews but rather "bad planning and laws."
The Tánaiste said he accepted that SHDs "didn't work" and that's why "we have had to change".
However he said judicial reviews had to be reformed as they'd threatened vital projects, like a major expansion of the Intel plant in Kildare or "really important road projects."
