Ms Angela Denning:

I thank the Cathaoirleach and the members of the committee for the invitation to appear today. I am accompanied by Kim Duffy, principal registrar of the High Court, and Lisa Scott, principal officer in my own office. I look forward to discussing the role and remit of the Courts Service and the steps in the judicial review process.

The Courts Service has been responsible for the management and administration of the courts since 1999. As members are aware, the administration of justice is a matter for the Judiciary and, in accordance with the constitutional independence of the Judiciary and the provisions of the Courts Service Act, is outside the scope of the functions of the Courts Service. Separately, the Judicial Council is an independent body that was established in December 2019 and oversees the education and training of the Judiciary. Therefore, I am precluded from commenting on any matters relating to the exercise by a judge of his or her judicial functions or matters relating to the training of judges. This includes discussion of individual court cases.

The Courts Service is an independent State body established by the Courts Service Act in 1998 to support the third branch of government, namely, the courts and the Judiciary. We have 1,326 staff today in 47 offices nationwide, supporting 193 judges. We have 100 active court venues nationwide. Our primary functions are to manage the courts, provide support services to the judges, provide information on the courts system and provide court buildings and facilities for court users. The executive is accountable to a board chaired by Ms Justice Dunne, a nominee of the Chief Justice, and comprising 17 others. The board determines policy and oversees its implementation by the executive.

The committee has asked me to provide an overview of the steps in the judicial review process. Judicial review is a very important component of our legal system. It is a process whereby the High Court supervises lower courts, tribunals and public bodies to ensure their decisions are lawful and fair. It is not an appeal. The court focuses on the legality and fairness of the decision-making process, not the merits or substance of the decision itself. There are, broadly speaking, two types of judicial review, conventional and statutory. Procedures for conventional judicial review are governed by Order 84 of the rules of the superior courts. They are a bit like the Houses’ Standing Orders. Planning is one type of statutory judicial review, which the Oireachtas has made special provision for in legislation. To apply for judicial review, an applicant must show they are affected in some way by the decision they are challenging. Applicants must also show their case has grounds to be brought.

The High Court can make a range of different orders. The court can quash a decision, compel the making of a decision or stop a decision being made. Other reliefs are to make a declaration or issue an injunction. Since the middle of June, SI 246 of 2025 has provided us with new rules of the superior courts, Order 103, in relation to the planning and environmental list. This dedicated list was established in December 2023 in response to the increasing complexity and volume of planning and environmental litigation. This initiative, introduced as part of the Housing for All strategy, aims to streamline the handling of planning and environmental cases before the High Court and reduce delays in the resolution of disputes with cases heard by specialist judges. The new list now encompasses proceedings related to EU environmental legislation and areas of national legislation, which include planning, transport, water, climate, natural heritage, built heritage, waste, mineral exploration, the marine, agriculture and pollution. Rule 5 of Order 103 sets out the purpose and objective as being to facilitate specialised, just and expeditious processing of litigation in the planning and environmental field and the promotion of specific strategies to give effect to the right to a hearing within a reasonable time, and the heightened obligation in that regard, in particular proceedings such as the EU law obligation of expedition in relation to renewable energy projects.

The year 2024 saw the first full year of operation of the list. Three judges are assigned full time with assistance from two others. This allows the assigned judges time out of court to write their decisions, speeding up the delivery of decisions to litigants. The court aims to deliver every judgment within two months of the hearing. There were 143 active cases in this list when it commenced and 241 new cases came in during 2024. By year end 2024, there were 252 active cases. There are 107 new cases so far in 2025, with 268 live cases as of today. This is a 28.8% increase in cases year on year. The list today includes cases relating to housing, wind farm development, emissions licences, agricultural infrastructure, communications masts, quarries and bus corridors, reflecting the broad remit of the court and the increase in activity in An Coimisiún Pleanála. A dedicated user group of the list held its first meeting in December 2024. The purpose of the user group is to serve as a forum for dialogue between the court and stakeholders on practice and procedural issues relevant to the efficient functioning of the list. The membership includes representatives from legal practitioners and public bodies regularly participating in the list.

A separate statutory procedure applies to applications for judicial review of decisions made by the planning authorities or An Coimisiún Pleanála. Sections 50 and 50A of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, set out this procedure. The time limit for instituting a judicial review in respect of a decision under the Planning and Development Act is eight weeks from the date of the decision or the doing of an act by a planning authority or An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Since the idea of a planning and environment list was first mooted, the court and Courts Service have worked together to take steps to assist parties and the public with their work. On the practical side, there is: the use of a core book of pleadings; documents are shared electronically; authorities are provided by way of a list; a default directions schedule has been provided by the court; and cases are automatically listed in the list to fix dates following completion of pleadings. More recently, the court has designated the applicant as the default document management party, introduced provisions to manage claims for costs protection in an orderly way, and provided for a standard procedure for hearings of two to three days or an expedited procedure of three and a half hours. For the public, a facility was established to allow members of the public and interested parties view proceedings remotely. A redesigned webpage on courts.ieprovides information on the court, including a frequently asked questions page to assist users.

The committee may be interested in the throughput of the court. As an example, on Monday, 30 June, hearing dates were allocated to all but 14 of 54 cases seeking dates. Of the cases seeking dates, 78% were seeking an order in respect of a decision of An Coimisiún Pleanála, reflecting its increased output in recent times. The other cases were against the EPA, the Minister for housing, the Minister for the environment, the Commissioner for Environmental Information, two county councils and some private entities, such as quarries. Forty-three sets of proceedings are now scheduled to be heard during the period from 15 September to 19 December 2025.

Importantly, the new court rules provide an expedited procedure, which is a fast track with accelerated timelines that applies automatically to strategic infrastructure cases; proceedings alleged to be strategic lawsuits against public participation; challenges to projects within the renewable energy directive; and cases on access to information on the environment. Proceedings issued in January and February this year were heard in June and, at time of writing, await judgment using this procedure.

The Courts Service remains dedicated to supporting the administration of justice in planning and environmental matters. We look forward to continued collaboration with stakeholders to ensure that our court system meets the evolving needs of society and supports sustainable development. I am happy to take any questions members have.