Author Archives: Neil van Dokkum

About Neil van Dokkum

Neil van Dokkum (B. SocSc; LLB; LLM; PGC Con.Lit) Neil is a law lecturer and has been so since arriving in Ireland from South Africa in 2002. Prior to that Neil worked in a leading firm of solicitors from 1987-1992, before being admitted as an Advocate of the Supreme Court of South Africa (a barrister) in 1992. He published three books in South Africa on employment law and unfair dismissal, as well as being published in numerous national and international peer-reviewed journals. Neil currently specialises in employment law, medical negligence law, family law and child protection law. He dabbles in EU law (procurement and energy). Neil retired from practice in 2002 to take up a full-time lecturing post. He has published three books since then, “Nursing Law for Irish Students (2005); “Evidence” (2007); and “Nursing Law for Students in Ireland” (2011). His current interest is the area of disability as a politico-economic construct. Neil is very happily married to Fiona, and they have two sons, Rory and Ian.

The concept of Standing and the access to justice

Posted on September 22, 2020

The Roman forum was a busy, often chaotic, place. Merchants, moneylenders, prophets, politicians, herbalists, apothecaries, and so on, were all jostling around doing business. It was similar to our modern-day marketplace, but probably a lot rowdier. What set the Roman … Continue reading →

Posted in Access to Justice; Locus Standi; Standing; Legal Standing, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; Aarhus Convention; Aarhus Treaty | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Public Consultation – fruitful or farcical?

Posted on September 13, 2020

What makes a good public consultation? I often write about a flawed or absent public consultation process. People keep saying to me: “We know how you are not supposed to do it, but can you not be constructive and suggest … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; Aarhus Convention; Aarhus Treaty | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Victims Vindicated: Farmers Victorious in Landmark Legal Battle Over Wind Turbine Noise

Posted on September 7, 2020

Will Irish judges follow the lead taken by their Australian counterparts? Victims Vindicated: Farmers Victorious in Landmark Legal Battle Over Wind Turbine Noise August 25, 2020 by stopthesethingsLeave a Comment Victors … Victims Vindicated: Farmers Victorious in Landmark Legal Battle … Continue reading →

Posted in EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF | 1 Comment

More on Forestry

Posted on August 25, 2020

Those readers who were I interested in my previous blog on the forestry industry in Ireland will be interested to read an interview that Peter Sweetman gave to the Irish Independent. I have selected some highlights from the interview: Peter … Continue reading →

Posted in EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF | Leave a comment

Seeing the Wood and the trees.

Posted on August 19, 2020

 My most favourite place is in a forest. They are full of energy, they smell lovely, they shield you from outside noise, there is birdsong and the occasional chatter of squirrels, you might see deer or other forest creatures, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, Legal Costs; Access to Justice; Courts, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; Aarhus Convention; Aarhus Treaty | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

“obscurum per obscurius”

Posted on August 5, 2020

(“the obscure by the more obscure”)   If “bullshit” was a proper legal concept, it would have been used liberally in the latest Supreme Court judgment, and one can only imagine that the actual word was used in discussions between … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Green Party; Ireland; Eamonn Ryan; Cormac Manning, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, NREAP; National Renewable Energy Action Plan; EU Commission; Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee; ACCC, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; Aarhus Convention; Aarhus Treaty | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Forcing the ‘Custodians of the Planning Process’ to do their job.

Posted on July 31, 2020

Many readers will be surprised to know that Irish planning law does have enforcement procedures. They will be even more surprised to know that the bodies designated to perform this enforcement function are the Councils. This is due to the … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, Planning Permission; Extension; Planning and Development Act | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Injunctions against Quarries

Posted on July 29, 2020

Illegal quarries seem to be in the news a lot lately, and it is always useful to pursue these stories, as their level of proliferation is usually directly proportional to the level of corruption in our county council system.  The reason … Continue reading →

Posted in EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Path to Extinction: Giant Wind & Solar Farms Destroying Habitat & Threatening Endangered Species

Posted on July 8, 2020

Originally posted on STOP THESE THINGS: Mike Moore’s Planet of The Humans revealed the wholesale environmental destruction caused by wind and solar; … Path to Extinction: Giant Wind & Solar Farms Destroying Habitat & Threatening Endangered Species

Posted in EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF | Leave a comment

Michael Shellenberger: Sorry, But I Cried Wolf on Climate Change

Posted on July 8, 2020

Originally posted on STOP THESE THINGS: If climate change is a problem, then wind turbines and solar panels aren’t a solution: heavily subsidised and… Michael Shellenberger: Sorry, But I Cried Wolf on Climate Change

Posted in EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF | Leave a comment

Adios to Substituted Consent. At last.

Posted on July 2, 2020

Peter Sweetman What is substituted consent? Substituted consent is a form of retention permission, whereby a person can obtain planning permission for a building or development  after that building has already been erected. It has a long and colourful history … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, Freedom of Information; Access to Environmental Information; AIE; Commissioner for Environmental Information, Green Party; Ireland; Eamonn Ryan; Cormac Manning, judicial review; Wednesbury Test; O'Keeffe; rationality; Separation of Powers, Kilvinane Wind Farm Ltd; substituted consent, NREAP; National Renewable Energy Action Plan; EU Commission; Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee; ACCC, Peremptory law; Directory Law; Planning and Devlopment Act of 2000, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, Planning Permission; Extension; Planning and Development Act, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters; Aarhus Convention; Aarhus Treaty, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); Grid 25; North-South Interconnector | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Distraction from the car engine

Posted on June 30, 2020

A very insightful piece from an amazing young woman. via Distraction from the car engine

Quote | Posted on June 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

What do we mean by “Conflict of Interest”?

Posted on February 16, 2020

EU commissioner lobbied by energy firm he owns shares in Johannes Hahn is the European Commissioner for budget and administration. He also owns 2,200 shares in Austria’s largest electricity-provider (Photo: europarl.europa.eu) By NIKOLAJ NIELSEN   BRUSSELS, 14. FEB, 07:04   … Continue reading →

Posted in EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Oh, what a lovely scam!

Posted on December 31, 2019

  This is a very interesting piece from National Wind Watch which in turn was gleaned from an article in the Sunday Times. Considering the number of new applications for wind farms happening all over the country, I wonder how … Continue reading →

Posted in EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Planning Permission; Extension; Planning and Development Act, Wind Farm Guidelines, turbines, flicker, noise, distance, Denis Naughten | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A time for Family

Posted on December 8, 2019

As we enter this festive season of which the primary focus should be family, I paused to consider the destructive impact that renewable energy legislation has had on so many families in this country, particularly those families living in the … Continue reading →

Posted in EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Peremptory law; Directory Law; Planning and Devlopment Act of 2000 | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

How Authorisation Procedures for Wind Farms are Illegally Discriminating Against Other Sources of Renewable Energy

Posted on December 7, 2019

An interesting article from Pat Swords:     1.1   Background There is now in 2019 approximately 3,700 MW of wind energy installed in the Republic of Ireland with an additional 1,300 MW installed in N. Ireland. As can be … Continue reading →

Posted in EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, NREAP; National Renewable Energy Action Plan; EU Commission; Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee; ACCC, Pat Swords | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The attack on Human Rights in Turkey

Posted on November 24, 2019

Our friends in Turkey continue to try and protect their homes and heritage sites from a rampant wind industry supported by a ruthless government and some highly questionable court decisions. Despite these obstacles, the community continues to pursue what many … Continue reading →

Posted in Arsin Demir, Çalık Holding; Turkey; EU; renewables, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Legal Costs; Access to Justice; Courts, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, Turkey; ABK Çeşme RES Enerji Elektrik Üretim A.Ş, Wind Turbines: Esen Fatma Kabadayi Whiting | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

QED

Posted on September 10, 2019

Renewables Threaten German Economy & Energy Supply, McKinsey Warns In New Report Michael Shellenberger  Energy I write about energy and the environment. To stabilize the electricity grid and avoid becoming too dependent on imported natural gas, Germany is expanding coal … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Research; Peer-Review Process; Medical Journals, An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, Çalık Holding; Turkey; EU; renewables, Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, Dr Sarah Laurie; Steve Cooper; Bob McMurtry; Alun Evans, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Freedom of Information; Access to Environmental Information; AIE; Commissioner for Environmental Information, GDPR; Data Protection; Individual Rights, Green Party; Ireland; Eamonn Ryan; Cormac Manning, Irish Farmers Association; IFA; wind farm contracts, Kilvinane Wind Farm Ltd; substituted consent, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment