Judicial reviews are being “weaponised” to “prohibit very badly needed homes,” Housing Minister James Browne has said.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, the Fianna Fáil Minister said the Government’s reforms to planning law would help ensure that only individuals with a “legitimate interest” in a development could bring legal objections.
“I do believe judicial reviews have been weaponised by some people, with a view to simply, if you delay a project long enough, the project will fall,” he said.
“That’s not everybody. You know, judicial reviews are a legitimate part of our legal process, and that’s why under the Planning and Development Act, what we are doing is tightening up judicial reviews to ensure that only those who have a legitimate interest in a project can bring forward their objections to it.”
Browne said the process of zoning and consultation was already extensive in Ireland, but that challenges often re-emerged once planning was granted.
“In many other countries, once you do the county development plan, you’ve had years of consultations and land is zoned for particular housing,” he said.
“Usually, actually, it’s quite an administrative process after that point. In Ireland, the process almost starts to renew, where people can bring a lot of challenges.”
He said the new Planning and Development Act would “curtail the weaponising” of reviews without removing the ability of concerned locals to raise genuine issues.
“So I think the Planning and Development Act will really help to curtail the weaponising of judicial reviews, and will allow people who have legitimate concern to exercise their concerns around that,” he said.
“I think often it’s people, you know, they are living in an area, they have concerns about the development. It’s not to say that the concerns are not real.”
However, he warned that some objectors appeared to be using the courts tactically, without expectation of a legal victory.
“I think using the courts in that manner to perhaps prohibit very badly needed homes – that’s the concern I have in terms of weaponising,” he said.
“And when I say the weaponising, it’s not with a view to actually getting a legal result. It’s with a view to simply slowing down the process enough to prohibit the delivery of the project.”
The Minister’s comments came as Cabinet approved the priority drafting of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025. Among its provisions, the Bill will enable the extension of planning permissions nearing their expiry, and will stop the clock on permissions subject to judicial review.
According to the Department of Housing, just under 19,000 housing units across 52 sites have been subject to judicial review over the past five years. Of those, almost 15,800 units were ultimately permitted but lost development time due to delays in court.
“This is about getting things moving and ensuring we don’t lose out on important developments due to the challenges the sector has faced in recent years,” Browne said.
“There is clear evidence that there are a number of permissions for housing that are due to expire shortly that have not yet been commenced and there have been calls for an extension to all current permissions.”