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Judicial reviews being weaponised by narrow interests - Chambers

Jack Chambers said that a rebalancing of judicial reviews was required in the interests of the common good (File image: RollingNews.ie)
Jack Chambers said that a rebalancing of judicial reviews was required in the interests of the common good (File image: RollingNews.ie)

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has said that the number of judicial reviews are growing exponentially and are being weaponised by narrow interests.

The minister is bringing forward a series of legal and regulatory reforms to accelerate the delivery of infrastructure across the country as part of the Government's new infrastructure plan.

This will include reforms of judicial review proceedings to limit how major infrastructure projects can be held up.

Mr Chambers said that a rebalancing of judicial reviews was required in the interests of the common good.

The minister also said he would bring forward a critical infrastructure bill with emergency powers.

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However, Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin blamed Government for delays.

"The real cause of the delay to the delivery of infrastructure and housing is the Government's lack of funding, too much red tape and bureaucracy and also not enough staff for our planning authorities.

He said: "If the Government wants to see the number of judicial reviews reduced, they need to remove the inconsistencies and contradictions in our planning and environmental law, inconsistencies and contradictions they themselves created, and then fund our planning and court systems so they can make good quality decisions in a timely manner."

Another aspect of the Coalition's infrastructure plan is that Government departments and agencies will be ordered to cooperate with the delivery of infrastructure on land they own or they could have their funding approval or sanction withheld or withdrawn.

The move is one of around 30 actions aimed at fostering what's termed a "culture of delivery" across all aspects of Government to fast-track infrastructure.

Other measures contained in the report include transferring sole responsibility for Compulsory Purchase Orders to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

There are also plans for new laws to allow Government to designate specific works as critical infrastructure required in the national interest.

This could be progressed through a fast track pathway where projects can skip statutory assessment, licencing and consenting stages while remaining consistent with EU law.

This designation would require the prioritisation of all planning, regulation, funding decisions and any licences, permits, consents or agreements from State entities and will accelerate the approval of strategic projects.

Minister Chambers is also likely to recommend amending infrastructure guidelines including increasing project thresholds from €200m to €500m for key sectors.

Reforms of Judicial Review proceedings to limit how major infrastructure projects can be obstructed or delayed by objectors are also prioritised in the report.

Measures being examined here include narrowing the legal standing for who can take an action, including prioritisation of parties directly affected by projects and introducing a new step requiring the assessment of the likelihood of success before granting leave.

The appropriateness of certain fee structures is also to be examined, including "no foal, no fee" arrangements.