Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have worked with quite a number of residents' groups, some of whom have sought judicial reviews. I say quite a number but it was actually not that many. They are highly organised and ready. These requirements would not impose any burden on them because, in some cases, they have gone to the court in Luxembourg. These are not extra requirements on them, in my experience. I also reject the notion that there are people sitting at home wondering whether to buy food or pay for electricity or, instead, lodge a planning objection. That is not real life. We need to get back to real life because what has been mentioned is simply not realistic. The reality is that the primary access to justice in terms of planning, and the main driver of a planning decision, is the appeal to An Bord Pleanála. Again, in my experience of residents' associations fees of €20 and €40 are not an issue because a number of people can come together, which happens all the time and Deputy O'Callaghan knows that. It is at An Bord Pleanála where the full review of a decision is made.

As members will know, and maybe the public are not always aware, a judicial review of a planning decision is exactly that. It is a review. It looks at whether procedural mistakes were made by An Bord Pleanála in that case. It does not substitute the views of the judge for the views of An Bord Pleanála and simply sends it back to An Bord Pleanála. We can get caught up in all this stuff about judicial reviews but the reality is that there is a number of people who take judicial reviews. There is a number of people who have to and there is a number of people who, quite frankly, do not have to. Those who have taken them, in my experience, are well able for it. In fact, from what I have seen, they tend to be advised already by lawyers at a very early stage of the process and not simply when the clock starts ticking on the eight weeks. We do not see any issue with access to justice here. We see this as simply a means of getting greater transparency, better governance and ensuring the planning system can operate in the fairest possible way, in accordance with all law that we are subject to, but also ensures the system can work, works efficiently, that there are not people out there who are not the type of residents whom the Deputies and I know are genuine cases and that there are not people out there simply trying to slow down the planning system and the national objectives we have.