Category Archives: High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion

Reasons, and the reasons for giving Reasons.

Posted on July 24, 2018 by

This is a case report on the Supreme Court judgment of: Kathleen Connelly v. An Bord Pleanala (Clare County Council and McMahon Finn Wind Acquisitions Ltd – Notice Parties) Full judgment here: Kathleen Connolly v ABP Supreme Court . The Parties … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); Grid 25; North-South Interconnector | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Courts of Ireland – take 2

Posted on July 2, 2018 by

Many thanks indeed for the loads of helpful comments and suggestions to the first draft of a chapter I am writing which seeks to introduce the Irish legal system to people who know little or nothing about Irish law. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Research; Peer-Review Process; Medical Journals, EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF, High Court; Judge Caroline Costello; John Callaghan; Leave to Appeal, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, judicial review; Wednesbury Test; O'Keeffe; rationality; Separation of Powers, Law; High Court; Leave To Appeal; Environment, Legal Costs; Access to Justice; Courts, Peremptory law; Directory Law; Planning and Devlopment Act of 2000 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Communities under threat

Posted on June 25, 2018 by

  This is the Press Release from WindAware Ireland concerning the critical situation in which the people of Ratheniska, County Laois, find themselves. Wind Aware Ireland Press Release One Small Laois Community to Blockade A Big Energy Company A small … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, judicial review; Wednesbury Test; O'Keeffe; rationality; Separation of Powers, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, RTS Action Group; Ratheniska; Timahoe; Spink, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); Grid 25; North-South Interconnector | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How do our courts work?

Posted on June 17, 2018 by

  The volume of work at my place of employment has caused me to neglect this blog, for which I apologise. Rather  than simply stopping  blogging, I thought I might combine work and blogging. The piece below is a very … Continue reading →

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Access to Justice?

Posted on October 16, 2017 by

The Aarhus Compliance Committee has interpreted Article 9 (3) of the Convention to mean that the public must have access to adequate judicial mechanisms in the event of acts and omissions in contravention of environmental law and, secondly, to provide … Continue reading →

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It’s official – wind farms are a damned Nuisance

Posted on January 8, 2017 by

    The tort of Nuisance – basic principles The law of (private) nuisance has been around for a long time but it has always been a poor neighbour to the more commonly litigated torts of negligence and trespass. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic Research; Peer-Review Process; Medical Journals, An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, Apple; Google; Data Centre, BSB Community Energy Ltd, Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, Dr Sarah Laurie; Steve Cooper; Bob McMurtry; Alun Evans, EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF, Enercon, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Irish Farmers Association; IFA; wind farm contracts, Legal Costs; Access to Justice; Courts, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, Planning Permission; Extension; Planning and Development Act, The Spokes of the Wheel; wind farms; Ireland; Windfall, Wind Farm Guidelines, turbines, flicker, noise, distance, Denis Naughten, Wind Turbine Syndrome; Professor Alun Evans, Wind Turbines: Esen Fatma Kabadayi Whiting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Clueless!

Posted on November 29, 2016 by

Irish rural communities have been opposing wind farms, and pylons before that, for the better part of a decade. This has involved community groups gathering funds through church collections, cake sales, and the like. There are numerous tales of hardship … Continue reading →

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When the Boot is on the other Foot

Posted on November 24, 2016 by

    Section 50 of the Planning and Development Act of 2000 (PDA 2000) is possibly one of the most unpopular sections when it comes to community organisations who battle big business, particularly wind farm developers. This is due to … Continue reading →

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How the Council Spends Our Money — Citizens Against Corruption

Posted on November 21, 2016 by

Congratulations to the Four Angry Ladies on starting this site, and asking questions that most are too scared to ask. I would ask two more: The link between the Comeragh Community Development Group and BSB Energy has already been established. … Continue reading →

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Facts and Figures

Posted on November 16, 2016 by

  My blog yesterday aroused a huge amount of interest. People expressed shock and surprise at the news that a company cannot be forced to declare a dividend. It is not always fun being the bearer of bad news but … Continue reading →

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The Public Meeting in Rainbow Hall

Posted on November 15, 2016 by

The turnout at last night’s meeting in Rainbow Hall was huge – well over five hundred people (and we have signed lists to prove that, RTE News). The meeting ended with a very resounding, and unanimous, rejection of the proposed … Continue reading →

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Enough Already!!!

Posted on November 13, 2016 by

  A certain individual has been going around my community spreading particularly malicious rumours about me. For a while it was a pathetic joke, but it has to stop now.   One of the malicious lies being spread by this … Continue reading →

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Well done, Val!!

Posted on October 17, 2016 by

Congratulations to Val Martin, who took on An Bord Pleanala in the High Court and won. This amazing achievement is testimony to the fact that it is possible for a person, with no formal legal training, but with bucketloads of … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, High Court; Judge Caroline Costello; John Callaghan; Leave to Appeal, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, judicial review; Wednesbury Test; O'Keeffe; rationality; Separation of Powers, Law; High Court; Leave To Appeal; Environment, Legal Costs; Access to Justice; Courts, 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, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); Grid 25; North-South Interconnector, Val Martin | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Distinguishing procedure from the merits

Posted on August 26, 2016 by

    It is often a challenge when advising people who are distressed about a wind farm going up next to them or that EirGrid is building pylons on their farm because all they see are the issues or the … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29 | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Don’t Stand on the Sidelines – Get In There!

Posted on August 19, 2016 by

  A friend asked me the other day that if a person wanted to take the granting of planning permission on review, did you have to be somehow involved in the original application? As is the case with most questions … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, EirGrid; Insurance; Law; Cancer; EMF, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

It’s official – nothing is happening at the High Court!

Posted on June 18, 2016 by

Readers were enraged at the contents of a previous blog on the inexplicable lack of activity on the part of the High Court in the case of Swords v Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. Conspiracy theories came thick … Continue reading →

Posted in EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Freedom of Information; Access to Environmental Information; AIE; Commissioner for Environmental Information, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, NREAP; National Renewable Energy Action Plan; EU Commission; Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee; ACCC, Pat Swords, The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

What is happening at the High Court?

Posted on May 26, 2016 by

What is happening at the High Court?   Not a lot, it would seem.   In 2009 Pat Swords started his campaign against government plans to cover the Irish countryside with more than three thousand wind turbines and six thousand … Continue reading →

Posted in EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, Freedom of Information; Access to Environmental Information; AIE; Commissioner for Environmental Information, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Law; High Court; Leave To Appeal; Environment, NREAP; National Renewable Energy Action Plan; EU Commission; Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee; ACCC, Pat Swords, Planning and Development Act 2000; guidelines; directives; Sections 28 & 29, The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Substituted Consent? Surely not!

Posted on April 22, 2016 by

  Section 34 of the Planning and Development Act of 2000 (“PDA2000”) deals with the actual decision on an application for planning permission, including all the necessary formalities and time-limits and so on. . Subsection (12) of Section 34 deals … Continue reading →

Posted in An Bord Pleanala; appeal; interested parties, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, judicial review; Wednesbury Test; O'Keeffe; rationality; Separation of Powers, Kilvinane Wind Farm Ltd; substituted consent, 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 | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Open letter to IWEA (and Messrs White and Coffey)

Posted on January 31, 2016 by

The practice of lobbying government Ministers and other influential members of a ruling party is regarded by many as an integral part of our process of democracy. . Those in favour would argue that politicians should look to be educated … Continue reading →

Posted in Democracy; Ireland; Fine Gael; Labour; Sinn Fein; Workers; Constitution, EIA Directive 2014/52/EU, EU Renewable Energy 2020 Target, High Court; Judge Caroline Costello; John Callaghan; Leave to Appeal, High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Law; High Court; Leave To Appeal; Environment, lobbying; democracy; political process; general election, NREAP; National Renewable Energy Action Plan; EU Commission; Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee; ACCC, Paudie Coffey; series compensation; Fine Gael; Alan Kelly; Alex White, Peremptory law; Directory Law; Planning and Devlopment Act of 2000, Planning Permission; Extension; Planning and Development Act, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA); Grid 25; North-South Interconnector | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

An Opportunity Missed – Callaghan vs. An Bord Pleanála and the Attorney-General

Posted on June 19, 2015 by

Judgment was delivered by the High Court (Costello J.) on 11 June 2015 in the application for leave to judicially review the decision of An Bord Pleanála to designate the North Meath Wind Farm a Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID). . … Continue reading →

Posted in High Court; Judicial Review; Appeal on the merits; judicial discretion, Ms Justice Costello; Section 37A Planning and Development Act 2000; | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments