Clane–Maynooth Independent Councillor Pádraig McEvoy - one of a group taking a High Court challenge against the Government’s new apartment planning standards - says developers, business figures some Government officials have been "repeating" the same "talking points" in recent weeks.
A Kildare councillor has claimed there is a coordinated effort under way to pin Ireland’s housing and infrastructure delays on the judicial review system.
Clane–Maynooth Independent Councillor Pádraig McEvoy - one of a group taking a High Court challenge against the Government’s new apartment planning standards - says developers, business figures and some Government officials have been "repeating" the same "talking points" in recent weeks.
His comments come after the Government confirmed in court last month that it is abandoning its proposed apartment-planning guidelines and will instead prepare a new national planning statement, along with a full environmental assessment.
That move followed a legal challenge brought by McEvoy and others.
The case is currently back before the courts this morning and is not expected to conclude until around 1pm.
It is exploring whether or not the Government's apartment guidelines could impact livability for residents, owners and renters.
The original guidelines would have allowed developers to increase the proportion of studios in new schemes, reduce minimum studio size to 32 square metres, lower dual-aspect requirements from 33% to 25%, and permit fewer lifts, windows and private open spaces.
Speaking generally about judicial reviews, Cllr McEvoy said there has been a surge in claims that legal challenges are “frivolous,” based on “technicalities,” or part of a wider “judicial review industry.”
He claimed that the narrative is designed to justify restricting communities’ access to the courts.
According to McEvoy, limiting judicial reviews will not speed up the delivery of homes, but will lessen public oversight and shift "power" towards major developers.
He said judicial reviews remain as one of the "last tools left to hold the system itself to account".
He argued that presenting scrutiny as delay narrows who can "question power" and how.
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