Planning and Environmental Law: Modernising Planning Law: Expedited Hearings, Judicial Review Reform, Housing Delivery and CPO’s

The planning and environment list was set up in December 2023 to expedite legal proceedings that were holding up housing and infrastructure projects.

It offers automatic entry for relevant cases, ensuring that planning and environmental disputes are handled by judges with specialist expertise. The Court is strict on time limits, meaning cases are resolved quickly, providing greater certainty for litigants. Expedited hearings are common, often limited to 3.5-hour slots, which reduces delays and associated legal costs. The Court relies heavily on electronic documents and remote hearings, streamlining the process and allowing for more flexible participation. 

There is also a detailed Practice Direction requiring pleadings, submissions, and summaries to be prepared in advance, which helps all parties to have an earlier understanding of the issues and facilitates more focused hearings. There is even a list of cases that do not need to be cited in legal submission as the Court takes them ‘as read’. These efficiencies in the Court's practice have reduced the time, cost, and uncertainty associated with planning and environmental litigation.

This fast-track approach is working. The Court Service’s Annual Report for 2024 shows 253 planning and environmental cases were resolved last year, up from 129 in 2023, an increase of 96% under the new approach. Coupled with the fact that we now have a new law that extends planning permissions to take account of delays related to judicial reviews; real progress is underway. In an attempt to further expedite hearings, there are even discussions in the law library of hearings being held solely on the basis of legal submissions and affidavit evidence.

Protective costs in Irish planning and environmental judicial review proceedings provide significant benefits, particularly for applicants challenging decisions on environmental grounds. The specialist Court frontloads protective costs as one of the initial steps to be dealt with, usually after leave is granted. Under domestic law, the general rule is that 'costs follow the event', meaning the losing party pays the winning party's costs. However, Section 50B of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and Sections 3 and 4 of the 2011 Act, introduce a 'no order as to costs' regime for environmental challenges, in line with the Aarhus Convention. The Supreme Court has confirmed that cost protection applies to the entirety of relevant proceedings. The Planning and Development Act 2024 will further strengthen this regime by capping recoverable legal costs for planning judicial reviews. It will also provide for an Environmental Legal Costs Financial Assistance Mechanism, though these provisions have not yet been implemented. 

Ireland is experiencing a transformative moment in its planning system, with the Planning and Development Act 2024 heralding the most significant improvements in over twenty years. This Act is designed to modernise planning law, making it more accessible and effective for all stakeholders.

Key milestones are set, including the introduction of new frameworks for judicial review, enforcement, appeals, and Commission powers, as well as updates to plans, policies, and environmental assessments. 

A unified definition of “development” now applies across all contexts, providing consistency and certainty. While the system of exempted development remains familiar, the Minister’s new power to exempt specific types or classes of development introduces valuable flexibility. Importantly, critical protections remain in place for the environment and heritage assets.

It brings welcome clarity to material changes of use, offering concrete examples and streamlining the process for determining whether an act is considered “development” and if it is exempt. The new Section 10 declarations will ensure timely decisions and greater transparency, with all outcomes recorded on a public register.

Design flexibility is a standout feature, empowering developers to pursue innovative and complex projects even when some details are yet to be finalised. By allowing options and ranges for uncertain aspects, the Act supports creative solutions and technological advancement.

Material alterations are subject to thorough assessment and public consultation, ensuring robust scrutiny and community involvement, while non-material changes are processed swiftly. Extensions of permission are now more straightforward, with clear criteria and timelines.

Enforcement provisions are robust and fair, with significant penalties for non-compliance and clear responsibilities for directors and officers. The burden of proof for exemptions encourages compliance and transparency.

The Report signals an exciting new chapter for infrastructure development in Ireland in 2026, recognising the challenges that have previously hindered infrastructure delivery. The Report lays out a clear and proactive framework to address these issues both immediately, and in the years ahead. To execute its objectives, we need new laws. These must be prioritised.

The Report aims to introduce a statutory framework to empower the Government to identify and fast-track projects of critical national importance, including the use of robust emergency powers. The Report proposes a comprehensive overhaul of the judicial review system, with plans for stricter standing requirements, cost controls, and codified procedures to minimise litigation delays. The establishment of a Regulatory Simplification Unit and streamlined approval mechanisms will further enhance efficiency. This will reduce development timelines and boost coordination between agencies. Collectively, these measures represent a decisive move towards creating a more predictable, efficient, and attractive environment for investment in major infrastructure projects.

The Report arrives at a crucial moment, as Ireland’s largest-ever investment in infrastructure is poised to transform the nation’s electricity, water, and transport networks. By addressing barriers such as judicial review delays, rigid procurement, and regulatory complexity, the Report paves the way for timely and effective project delivery. However, it is less clear how such ‘emergency approval’ might avoid falling foul of European law requirements for public participation, Appropriate Assessment, Environmental Impact Assessment and judicial review, all of which promote public participation as a cornerstone of environmental protection. Any such ‘emergency’ legislation could face the judicial review that the measures will be designed to avoid, with a likely subsequent referral to the European Court of Justice.

The Report mandates reform of judicial review.  While the Government is committed to progressing fundamental reform of the judicial review system through the Civil Reform Bill, , other reforms such as the scale of fees (Chapter 2 of Part 9) are to be prioritised. It won’t be immediate however, as implementation of this action requires the new legislation on fee caps. It proposes new legislation (entitled the Critical Infrastructure Bill) to recognise and accelerate key projects through planning, licensing, and other consenting stages.  These ‘key projects’ will be set out in a critical infrastructure projects list. What will comprise critical infrastructure? We don’t know yet, but you can expect offshore renewables, wastewater infrastructure and key transport projects to be top of the list.

In November 2025, DoHLGH released “Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030; An Action Plan on Housing Supply and Targeting Homelessness (“the Action Plan”). The track record of these plans delivering results is far from impressive and begs the question what is new here? 

Housing developers can expect to see some green shoots in 2026. However, prepare for a multitude of Development Plans to be varied, with corresponding re-zoning, to reflect new housing goals. 

The National Planning Framework’s (“NPF”) first Revision was adopted to address evolving challenges in relation to climate change, housing, regional development, and population growth. It clearly outlines an intention to accelerate much-needed housing delivery by prioritising residential development in areas with existing and planned infrastructure capacity.

In July 2025, “NPF Implementation: Housing Growth Requirements Guidelines for Planning Authorities” (“the Guidelines”) were issued under Section 28 of the the Planning Act 2024. The purpose of the Guidelines is to inform variation processes, and to assist planning authorities in appropriately integrating the strategic national and regional population parameters into the preparation of the housing strategy, informed by the Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA) process outlined in NPO47 of the Revised NPF.  Where the planning authority considers that lands may not be developed within the remaining planning period, it may be necessary to consider the zoning of alternative lands in the short to medium term.

The compulsory purchase order (CPO) procedure is typically undertaken to facilitate public infrastructure projects that serve the greater good, such as road enhancements throughout Ireland or urban development initiatives like the bus connects scheme and the proposed LUAS extension. The current law stems from many different pieces of legislation, and different rules apply depending on the type of CPO involved, whether for roads, housing, railways, or other infrastructure such as gas pipelines. Given the complex legal landscape surrounding CPOs and the appetite for Government to promote the use of CPO’s coupled with certain State agencies statutory powers to compulsorily acquire land, it is a power that is carefully scrutinised by affected parties from a legal compliance perspective. In our experience of advising semi state entities with CPO powers, successful objections to CPO’s are usually those which have been made on planning or legal grounds including masterplan preparation, rezoning to facilitate residential-led development, consolidation or relocation of existing uses, decontamination and detailed design of significant infrastructure works. We anticipate more litigation in this space.