Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 9 July 2025
Committee on Infrastructure and National Development Plan Delivery
Judicial Review and Appeals Process: Engagement with Courts Service
2:00 am
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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The purpose of the meeting today is to discuss the role of the Courts Service and an overview of the steps in the judicial review process and appeals process, to include information on trends in the number of applications received and the timeline for processing. We are of course talking about planning and construction matters, rather than every type of case that the courts deal with. If anybody has any query about any other case not connected with this, they can take it up outside.
I am pleased to welcome representatives of the Court Service Ms Angela Denning, CEO, Ms Kim Duffy, principal registrar of the High Court, and Ms Lisa Scott, principal officer at the office of the chief executive. For people watching, this is a meeting on the operations of the Courts Service and we are not examining any cases that have gone before judges. In case the public thinks we have judges here who will comment on previous cases, that is not the case. We will look at the management, the caseload, the workload and its prioritisation, and the process. It will not involve anything to do with the details of any particular case. I say that in case people were wondering about the role of the people here today.
Witnesses are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice that they should not criticise nor make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or identifiable, or otherwise engage in speech that might be regarded as damaging to the good name of the person or entity. Therefore, if their statements are potentially defamatory in relation to an identifiable person or entity, they will be directed to discontinue their remarks. It is imperative that they comply with any such direction.
I remind members they will be afford a six-minute speaking slot for questions and answers, with a second opportunity to contribute at the end of the meeting or the first round of speakers, if they so wish.
I now invite Ms Denning to make her opening statement.
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.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you for that very helpful presentation, specifically regarding the issues this committee is dealing with, and you were very focused on that. I have a few quick questions before we hand it over to other members. Bearing in mind people in the legal system understand what goes on, a judicial review goes to the High Court, where it can be dealt with or otherwise, but if there is then an appeal it also goes to the High Court, will you explain the difference between them? One you are looking at whether it was dealt with appropriately, while the other you are probably looks at the merits of the case. Explain that. They are both in the High Court. The judicial review and then the-----
Ms Angela Denning:
It depends on the legislation. For example, some appeals in some environmental and planning matters go to the Circuit Court. Some appeals will go to the High Court, but judicial review is only dealt with in the High Court. Again, the difference is that an appeal is a complete rehearing and look at the facts. You start afresh, but with judicial review the judge is only looking at the process to make sure that the process set out in legislation or in statute is complied with. For example, in planning matters, if An Bord Pleanála is supposed to take certain matters into account when making its decision, judicial review is to ensure that it took those matters into account and does not look behind the decision itself.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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How many cases that went for judicial review are then appealed?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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You mentioned the Court of Appeal. I am being the devil's advocate here. We are talking about the High Court but now you are talking about the Court of Appeal. I am talking about cases dealt with by the High Court, in substance, before they go to the Court of Appeal.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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I am saying this because most people get lost when they hear Court of Appeal, judicial review or High Court. I want to help ordinary people watching this. I am sorry if people think it is a bit basic-----
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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-----but ordinary people need to know precisely-----
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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There is no such thing as a silly question. There genuinely is not.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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We are only interested in the planning side, not the immigration or other-----
Ms Angela Denning:
They included judicial reviews and other types of cases. For example, some of the environmental cases, if there was an application under some of the wastewater matters, were done by way of notice of motion and affidavit. You do not do a judicial review of those if you are not happy with the decision.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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You have lost the public there.
Ms Angela Denning:
You can understand already how it is such a technical list. Once the High Court makes its decision, if it is a planning judicial review case, that can only be appealed to the Court of Appeal if the High Court judge certifies there is an important point of law. There is no automatic appeal up. You can only go to the Supreme Court if it looks at your application and decides that a constitutional point of law is involved. We had very few appeals on from planning cases because of that provision in the Planning and Development Act.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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You said, "To apply for judicial review, an applicant must show they are affected in some way by the decision they are challenging." Does that mean a person from Cork cannot appeal against a wind turbine application in Meath?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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That is the way I read that statement.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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If you had an objection or-----
Ms Angela Denning:
If you had objected earlier, for example, or if your house was next door. Again, in certain types of cases, such as environmental cases, you do not have to show that you have any connection at all. As a matter of European law, you are entitled to bring a judicial review in certain types of environmental cases.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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In other words, "To apply for judicial review, an applicant must show they were affected in some way by the decision they are challenging", or it is one of those limited number of environmental cases.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Okay. I am with you so far. Then you said there is a 28% increase in planning cases this year. What do you attribute that to?
Ms Angela Denning:
An Coimisiún Pleanála was here last week and it told about how it got rid of its backlog. When it gets rid of a backlog, that automatically generates a bit of extra work on our side. There has been a general increase across the board in certain types of cases. We have a number of cases at the moment relating to bus corridors in Dublin. We have an increase in cases this year relating to quarries and communications masts. That is where the increases this year have come from. It is very varied. The courts always reflect what is going on out in the wider world. The work that comes in depends on what is happening outside.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Does the issue of common good as it relates to strategic infrastructure come into play? I am not asking you to give a view on-----
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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That is why I am asking it. Does the Courts Service have a definition of the common good?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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At this stage, Deputies and Senators-----
Eileen Flynn (Independent)
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I am interested in knowing the definition of the common good you have in you mind. It is the same question, Chair. It is just that it would be a shame to let it go without talking about what the common good is.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Okay. I will help you on this. These are administrators who run the Courts Service. There is no judge here. It is a matter for a judge to decide what the common good is in an individual case. The witnesses cannot comment about an individual case. We are here to find out how many cases there are, what the delays are, what the process is, and how long it takes. We are looking at the delivery of national infrastructure and the Courts Service and judicial reviews are part of it. How a judge makes up his mind is not for him or her to explain to the Oireachtas. They are independent of the Oireachtas. The issue of the common good is something that we, as a committee, can come back to in our report. We cannot comment on the common good in a legal case. That is a matter for a judge. We have to respect their independence whether we like it or not. I am sure we will deal with the issue of the common good in our work as a committee going forward.
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis na finnéithe as a gcur i láthair inniu agus cuirim fáilte rompu. The purpose of our committee is to try to unpick the delays and costs that are affecting so many infrastructural and housing projects. It seems to be the case that, even before construction ever starts for anything, the journey is so long. There are so many different hoops that have to be jumped through from scoping to planning to tendering. Judicial reviews often become a bête noire in here. People often use it to say it is not their fault, the judicial reviews are going haywire and they cannot do anything about it, etc. I am just trying to find out how long it takes judicial reviews to happen, why there has been such an increase in judicial reviews, and what kind of staffing is in place to make sure that these judicial reviews progress in a timely fashion? This is the space we are in. I think there was a 67% increase in judicial reviews in one year. Ms Denning referred to An Coimisiún Pleanála's backlog. When we questioned its representatives about it, we asked if they were getting the necessary staff to deal with the backlog. Since that backlog has now come to the Courts Service, where is its staffing at in terms of delivering on that backlog?
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Has there been any increase?
Ms Angela Denning:
The number of judges has increased on the list. When the list started off, it was a subset of the commercial list. A judge was added in prior to the establishment of the planning and environment court. Just before the list was established, a third judge was added. We had our annual report launch on Monday and I understand that, after that, more judges will be added into the system this year. I expect that, in the event that more judges are added to the High Court, more judges will be appointed to this list.
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Ms Denning said that 252 cases are currently in the system for this year. There are three full-time judges and two part-time. Let us say there are four judges in this scenario. That means each judge has 63 cases. If it takes two months for a judge to give a judgement on each of those cases, then we are talking about 126 months for those cases that are in place, which is ten years for this year's cases. I may be wrong and there could be judgements being made concurrently. A judge may have five or six cases going on, etc. How long does it take on average from when an application comes in for judicial review to start to when a person receives a judgement and the tangled knot is cut and the process can start again?
Ms Angela Denning:
That is a difficult question to answer because every case is different. The reality is we have some cases that have been on the list for four or five years. They would be the worst case scenario. They may be cases where they were waiting on decisions from Europe. They may be cases where they were waiting for certainty as to costs. The Heather Hill decision, for example, meant-----
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Explain the Heather Hill case, please.
Ms Angela Denning:
This was a case about protective costs orders. It brought certainty to the eligibility for protective costs orders. What we have seen on the list since is that we are having fewer costs hearings in the middle of cases, which means that the time to move cases through the list has sped up. The judge in charge of the list has put a number of regimes in place to try to speed up that hearing time. For example, two strategic infrastructure cases where An Coimisiún Pleanála made the decision just before Christmas have now been dealt with.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Could you explain protective costs orders to the public?
Ms Angela Denning:
Under the Aarhus Convention, there is a protective costs order in relation to environmental matters. Now that the Supreme Court has found under the Heather Hill decision, anyone bringing proceedings relating to environmental matters is entitled to not have to pay costs that are prohibitively expensive. In some cases, this means the court will make an assessment of your ability to pay. In most cases what we are finding now is that, if it is an environmental case and the applicant is of good standing, the respondent is tending to just consent to the making of a protective costs order at the outset of the proceedings.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Does that mean they pay the costs?
Ms Angela Denning:
Again, depending on what happens, there are pages in Order 103 of the rules setting out now, depending on the circumstances and what happens both for interim applications and the full hearing of the case, who pays what where there is a protective costs order in place. While that may seem very complicated, it has actually brought clarity to the cases. It means we have fewer of those hearings before a case starts or just at the start of a case to try to determine what is going to happen with costs. Generally, the parties bear their own so that the person who has the protective costs order, if they lose the case, the winning side cannot seek a large costs award against them. It also means that if they lose the case, a respondent bears their own costs in most cases, unless there has been, and the rules do-----
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Has the applicant to pay their own costs?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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But you just said they might have to pay a small proportion.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Can a person of straw, to use the old phrase, take an environmental case?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Is this encouraging more cases?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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If you do have grounds, you are scot free.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you for explaining that. Sorry, Deputy Tóibín.
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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No bother. Ms Denning has given us examples of two speedy cases and slow cases of four and six years. Can we as a committee get an average? I do think that is important. It may not be today, but at a further time. We are regularly told by Ministers that the judicial review process is slowing down the delivery of construction infrastructure. We need to know what the average time is.
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Is that the start time of the process?
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Is it not the case that a person puts in an application first and then a date is given?
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I understand that, but is there a difference in time before I make an application for a judicial review and then a date is given? I want to know if we are starting from the very start of the process? Getting a date might not be the start of the process.
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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Can we get an average to the committee?
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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That is important. Finally, there has been a massive increase, but it is not just because of An Coimisiún Pleanála either. It is also in part because of the SHD process. That is now being replaced by the large-scale residential development, LRD, process, I understand. It looks like the SHD process has turbo-boosted the number of judicial reviews coming into place.
Ms Angela Denning:
In general, right across the courts, whenever there is a new process or a new piece of legislation, it will be tested. I remember when the Intoxilyzer came in for drink-driving, there were multiple cases related to it. Whenever there is new legislation or a new process, people will test it to see what the words mean and so on. That is the reality we see every day. Every time there is a change, a few cases come out of it.
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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The judicial review focuses on legality or fairness in a court process. If more judicial reviews are happening, does that mean more mistakes are happening in the court process?
Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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I am finished now, but maybe at a later date we could get the staffing over the past five years for us to compare and contrast.
Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Ms Denning, Ms Duffy and Ms Scott for coming in, and Ms Denning for her opening statement. We are here today in the infrastructure committee. My questions will be on the statutory judicial reviews with regard to planning, energy and transport. I listened to Deputy Tóibín and am trying to follow on from that.
There are probably too many judicial reviews happening. It is probably too easy for people to be able to make a judicial review. Without affecting people’s statutory rights, what can we do to reduce the number of judicial reviews? As a country, we are in a state of crisis with regard to housing, and as part of that housing, infrastructure has to be built to be able to put it in place. We need to do something in order for the processes to become quicker and faster. What can we do as a Government that will help the Courts Service? Is it getting more staff, more judges or more staff working with those judges? Is it changing the process? What is the best way of moving forward to have less of this?
Ms Angela Denning:
First, I cannot comment on policy. From a courts perspective, at the end of 2023, more judges were added into the system, and that sped up the throughput of cases right across the system, in respect of not just planning but all kinds of cases. The more judges we have, the shorter the waiting times will be. For something like judicial review, there is an inherent time built in. The parties have to exchange the papers and so on. That will always take four months at a minimum. If we had more judges and the appropriate supports for them, that would speed the process up. As to the scope and so on, that is a policy question and a matter for the Oireachtas and the policy departments to decide.
Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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What percentage of judicial reviews in recent years have had, say, a positive outcome for the person or group that has brought them? I am trying to figure out whether it is the case that An Board Pleanála is getting it wrong or that people are bringing these judicial reviews in the hope they will stop something or slow it down. Is it just a way of putting a stick into the spokes of a wheel?
Ms Angela Denning:
The Deputy will probably be astonished to hear this, but the Courts Service does not really care who wins or loses. What we care about is that the case gets finished and that an order is made. We keep records of how many different types of orders are made – mandamus, certiorari and so on - but we do not keep a record of whether an applicant won or lost.
Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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Is that something Ms Denning could provide us with at a later date?
Ms Angela Denning:
I do not think so. I think the people who are best placed with regard to that are the likes of An Coimisiún Pleanála, where it will be looking at its own decisions to see what proportion of them it is winning or losing, because that then determines its training for its own staff in the same way that county councils will have a record of how many they won or lost. From our perspective, we look at getting cases through the list and making sure that cases can get on daily – that we have a judge, a courtroom, a registrar and an interpreter if one is needed, that the papers are ready for the case to be heard and that the judges have what they need to make their decision. We are not concerned with the winners and losers. We are a bit like the facility staff in Croke Park. We provide the pitch and everything else but we actually do not care who wins the game. I know that sounds a bit-----
Tony McCormack (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Courts Service is impartial. It is making the judgment on legislation and what is there. To sum up, what Ms Denning is saying is that if we can provide more judges and staff to go along with that, we can expedite the whole process and make it easier and faster.
I again thank the witnesses for coming in. I appreciate it.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Ms Denning for her opening statement. There is a certain kind of negative, false narration around judicial reviews that they are blocking necessary infrastructure and that. Where would I find a breakdown of the people or groups that take judicial reviews? I believe it is members of the public, developers, landowners, local authorities and public authorities. Where would I find a breakdown of that?
Ms Angela Denning:
We have some figures on that. Of 278 cases that went through the list in recent times, 12 parties were self-represented and all the others had legal representation. That is the only concern we have because self-represented litigants need a bit more assistance from us on the procedural side. As to whether they were community groups or a developer objecting to the refusal of grant of permission, conditions on a grant or anything like that, we do not keep those statistics.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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My understanding is that the information the Courts Service has is high level but that only around 40% of judicial reviews are taken by members of the public as such. The majority are landowners, developers and public authorities. It would be nice to get a broad picture if we could have that information.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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There are names mentioned but it is not very easy to see from the names of the applicants whether it is a group or just an individual.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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You have to go into it a bit more. You have to dig a bit deeper to get it.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Last week, we had An Coimisiún Pleanála officials in regarding the staffing levels, and the representatives seemed to be quite satisfied with what it has. How does the Courts Service feel? Has it considered the impact on staff and resources following the implementation of the planning Act 2024? There is legislation being rushed through the Dáil tonight on that. My experience of the legal profession is that they love the grey. Black and white is easy to read. There is a worry that how the Planning and Development Act was rushed through the Dáil could result in a tsunami of litigation coming through. How is the Courts Service with staff and resources?
Ms Angela Denning:
I need enough staff to support each judge, so it is very much linked to the number of judges we have, as well as the infrastructure, such as whether we have enough courtrooms. If the cases will be heard remotely, and cases in this list can be heard remotely, we do not need a courtroom for them.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Does Ms Denning think the Courts Service is adequately resourced?
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Part 9 of the 2024 Act changed the rules on judicial reviews..
It removed the requirement to apply for leave before you would make an application. The requirement for leave screened out a lot of nonsensical kinds of things. Is that a worry for the Courts Service with its resources?
Ms Angela Denning:
It is a legal question but the leave applications, where you had leave on notice, could itself create a delay in the list. A lot of time could be spent dealing with the leave application and then you have to start all over again to hear the actual case. It is fine as long as the legal threshold for bringing a case into the list is clear. Over the years we have done experiments with leave on notice and leave ex parte where it is not on notice; and the leave on notice tended to add a little more delay into the system. We will have to wait until it is tested.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Ms Denning's feeling at the moment is that it might be positive.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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We touched on the Heather Hill case earlier. There was a quote from Supreme Court Justice Brian Murray. He warned the Government about changing litigation. It took a decade to catch up with litigation to sort things out after the previous planning Act. The changes to multiple other factors will be a multiple of that. We hear from the Government that there are lessons learned, but are we really learning lessons when every time we change the law, we open the door? Ms Denning said earlier that every time the law is changed, people like to test it. Every time we change the law, we open the door to more litigation. I hear there could be a tsunami of litigation coming down the track. Does Ms Denning feel lessons are learned? Mr. Justice Murray's quote on the Heather Hill judgment is long to read out, but he stated:
In a period of a little over a decade, the provisions intended to give effect to the ‘not prohibitively expensive’ requirements of the Aarhus Convention (which I refer to throughout this judgment... ) have generated at least thirty-five reserved judgments of the High Court, four decisions of the Court of Appeal, three references to the Court of Justice of the European Union, one judgment of that Court (so far) and, now, this decision of this Court.
Considering the multiplier effect that this can have, what advice does the body have? I am not asking for Ms Denning's opinion.
Ms Angela Denning:
Since the Heather Hill decision, we have had fewer cases involving issues as to cost protection. The clarity the Supreme Court gave seems to have had a settling effect on the applications for a protective costs order. The new court rules, which came into being in the middle of June 2025, have taken account of that and have also had an eye to the new legislation so we do not think we will have to make changes to the court rules when the new legislation is enacted. The rules committee seems to have had an eye to the 2024 legislation and the commencements of certain parts of it, with a view to not having to make rules changes again after the legislation has commenced.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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That would be positive if that is the case.
Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for their time. I will pick up on staffing and resourcing. The 2025 EU justice scorecard has ranked Ireland at the bottom of EU member states in terms of judges. On this list, I think it was mentioned that another judge and six supporting staff would be a help or would put the Courts Service in a position to deal with cases in a timely manner. Is that the case? What kind of difference would that make? I am sure the increase in cases is causing significant challenges. They mentioned they are expecting more judges this year. I am unfamiliar with the process of how that works, so how certain are they that additional judges will be in place? I also have an overall question about whether enough judges are being trained. I am again unfamiliar, but does the Courts Service have a role in this, and what is being done to increase the numbers?
Ms Angela Denning:
It is a Government decision to appoint extra judges. The previous Government made a decision before it finished up. We are expecting 20 new judges later this year or early next year. I understand six of those will be for the High Court. What has helped with the time it takes to hear cases in the planning and environment list is that the judges specialise and do nothing else. That has been a key factor. You do not have a judge who is hearing personal injury cases today, or other types of work, and then taking up a planning case. These judges just do planning cases, apart from the two who come in to assist from time to time to deal with short matters. You have three dedicated judges, and if that were to increase you would increase the throughput of the list and we would look forward to that.
Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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Do they have time as it stands to properly assess the cases that come in to try to get judgments in a short timeframe? There are obviously a lot, from European directives to national legislation and so on. Is there a risk to the quality of decisions that are being made at present?
Ms Angela Denning:
That is a matter for the Judiciary. If your judgment is not of a quality, you will be overturned. The reality as of today is that there are approximately 20 outstanding judgments for the whole list. When you consider the throughput of work they have, I think that is fairly good. The judicial planning working group dealt with this in its report. The ideal is that when a judge finishes hearing a case, they would get out of court to write the judgment straight away while all of the facts are fresh in their minds, and that they would get the time to do that. It is not possible to do that all of the time at the moment because of the demand on the list. We would love to get to that. You could schedule cases. The president would have enough resources available to him. The president of the High Court allocates judges to the different lists. He would have enough resources available to let a judge out of court when they finish a complex case to write the judgment straight away while everything is fresh in their mind.
Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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The opening statement mentioned an expedited procedure for the strategic infrastructure cases. Will the witnesses outline how that works and how much quicker these cases are heard?
Ms Kim Duffy:
The key element of the expedited procedure is that it was introduced in June 2024, and it has proven highly effective for priority cases. It involves a shorter hearing time, so it is a one-day case maximum and there are tighter timeframes for the filing of documents. The biggest advantage of those two factors is that the parties can get a hearing date sooner. The expedited procedure will apply as a default to challenges within the renewable energy directive, but it is also frequently applied for in proceedings alleged to be SLAPPs, in SID cases and in cases involving access to information on the environment. It will not apply in any case where cross-examination has been ordered. The intention is that the expedited procedure will only be applied in a minority of cases at any given time. An application for an expedited procedure can be made at any time in the process. That includes prior to the granting of leave. That is made on notice to the list registrar and the other parties, and crucially the consent of the other parties is not required. To apply, a party completes a checklist that is available on the webpage. They email that to the registrar. The matter is listed in the next convenient Monday. The expedited procedure will be afforded to any given case, including the default cases, at the discretion of the court and having regard to judicial capacity and workload at any time.
The majority of renewable energy cases seeking a date availed of it, which is more than 90%, as well as some other infrastructure cases. While there is no wait time to get a date, the estimated average time for major infrastructure cases from application to a day for hearing is between approximately four and six months. Bearing in mind it takes approximately four months to compile and complete the paperwork as it is, that has been ground down to the bare minimum. That process, including the paperwork, is all case managed and timetabled. Again, the procedure is available to any party applying and the court, having an available slot, will do its best.
Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Ms Duffy very much.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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The next speaker was meant to be Senator Cathal Byrne who is in the Seanad Chamber. Senator Stephenson may come in now and then we will go back to Senator Byrne when he comes back in from the Seanad.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I thank the witnesses so much. I am really sorry if I end up asking them something I missed while I was out for votes.
I note that the Courts Service does not currently publish disaggregated data when it comes to judicial cases in terms of the sector involved, the type of applicant or the case outcome. Is there a plan to do that? There is a bit of a narrative around nimbyism and in the context of 2024, we saw an increase of developer- and landowner-driven judicial reviews. Do the witnesses have any data on that?
Ms Angela Denning:
No. As I said, we do not care who brings the case or whether they win or lose. It is very much about the case load and the throughput in the list, trying to maintain waiting times as low as we possibly can. The parties to the cases would have more information, so the likes of the coimisiún would know exactly how many of its cases have been overturned, what the percentages are and so on.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Okay. I feel that there is probably a public interest in understanding where the judicial reviews are driven from, again, because of the narrative we see a lot around nimbyism and trying to understand. That data would really help in terms of policymaking. I know that is not necessarily Ms Denning's space, but given that the Courts Service manages and collates the cases, the-----
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I am sorry; I mean the Courts Service. The cases come to the Courts Service and, therefore, the data already exists at the Courts Service level in terms of the different criteria by which it might disaggregate data.
Ms Angela Denning:
This is part of the challenge, and that difference between us and the courts themselves. I always say our job is to get the judge onto the bench and then we leave the theatre, so to speak. After that, the judge takes over. The content of the case is not really a matter for us-----
Ms Angela Denning:
-----but I do think that the policy departments are definitely more interested in what is going on in courts. We are publishing more open data all the time. Our annual report data will go up as open data. That then helps people to look in the right places in order to find the answers.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I will note that I do think there would be a lot of public interest in having that disaggregated data around cases, but recognising what Ms Denning said in response to that.
In terms of the current capacity, has Ms Denning requested or put in requests for additional supports around processing judicial reviews? Under the Part 9 changes to the 2024 Act, we may see more judicial reviews as a consequence. Has Ms Denning requested more resources in anticipation of that?
Ms Angela Denning:
We are in the middle of the Estimates process at the moment in terms of making our submission and so on. We have included an application for more staff for the courts right across the board. Planning and judicial review is not the only area that is going to increase in the next year or two. We expect to see an increase in immigration cases as the Department of justice processes more. We have new family courts legislation. We have increased numbers of speed cameras, so we are going to have extra pressure on the district courts. We are seeing increases in childcare domestic violence right across the board. That is all encompassed in our Estimates submission, which has gone to our parent Department. I will say no more.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Okay. When it comes to the planning and environment list, does Ms Denning have cases that have been admitted under those? Does she have that data?
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Admitted to the planning and environment list.
Ms Angela Denning:
Into the list, yes. We had 241 cases last year, and I think it is 108 so far this year. Some 65% of those cases are against An Coimisiún Pleanála. We have 67 cases against residential developments, 11 against wind farms, nine with regard to emissions, seven with regard to agricultural infrastructure, 19 communications mast cases, 15 quarries cases and 17 transport cases at the moment. That is the rough breakdown of the list. In 2024, we had 241 cases in, with 253 disposed of. They were cases from the previous year or whatever, and 58 written judgments were delivered. So far in 2025, the judges have delivered 42 written judgments.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I have a follow-up question. I think the answer is probably "No". Does Ms Denning have data on who is submitting those judicial reviews?
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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The collation of that data into something that is easier to access rather than going through every single individual list is a policy decision that would sit outside the scope of the Courts Service's remit.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Where would that policy decision sit?
Ms Angela Denning:
If they are housing cases, the Department of housing will have an interest in how many cases were related to the coimisiún, for example. The Department of communications will be interested in the communications masts. The Department of Transport will be interested in the cases about the bus corridor.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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When it comes the whole thing around judicial review, is anyone responsible for presenting that data in a way that is actually accessible to the public?
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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In the context of planning, I mean.
Ms Angela Denning:
I do not think there is any one. Housing for All has kind of pulled together a lot of the Departments, and we go there as well and provide whatever data is requested from time to time. Certainly, we will always assist with that. That is the only kind of central body I know of that is looking at housing planning. It is not necessarily looking at some of the other infrastructural areas. Then, it is for individual Departments to look at those.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Yes, maybe that is an issue we can discuss as a committee. I feel like there is a real gap there in terms of the public interest around judicial review and understanding what is driving that, and without that data, we cannot do that. I recognise that it is all available if one goes and looks, but that is not easily accessible. There is a level of public interest linked to that. We should have data that is more consumable, really, for individuals.
Ms Angela Denning:
One thing the judge in charge of the list has done is that we have a public observation channel now. The public can dial in and watch judicial review cases in Judge Humphreys's list to see both what is going on in the list and the cases for hearing so that for people with an interest in the area, there is transparency there and they can see what is happening.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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I thank Ms Denning very much.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Following on briefly from that, I commented on the excellent report the Courts Service published earlier this week. I have seen the report and looked at some of it. It has a big section of about 80 pages on the year in numbers. There is phenomenal information in it for people who are interested. Is it possible next time to maybe have the information the Senator is referring to in terms of appeals and put some numbers or do a section on the issues that have been raised? Is it in the annual report and if not, could it be considered for the future? Many people have a big interest in the judicial review issue.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Can the Courts Service categorise them without asking? Can it categorise judicial reviews? I am looking at the report and it goes down to the details where one party is suing another under family law. It has outstanding information. It mentions commercial issues and commercial courts, examinerships, childcare orders, supervision of care orders and domestic abuse. It has phenomenal information in there. The Courts Service has categorised the cases that have come to it to provide that. Is it possible to categorise what the Senator is talking about?
Ms Angela Denning:
If we take childcare as an example, while we know how many numbers of cases we had in and out, we do not look to see who the applicant was and whether it was it Tusla or the HSE, who made the application, whether it was it a grandparent, so-----
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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It exists, surely. That type of disaggregated data does exist somewhere in the submissions, surely.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Right. You get the point. I am still complimenting you on the detail you have in there.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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There is a PhD there for somebody. I thank the Senator. The next speaker is Senator Cathal Byrne because he was out of the room, and we said we would bring both Senators in.
Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I appreciate that. I thank the Chair very much. I thank our visitors who are in with us today. I have a couple of questions around the idea that it is so easy to take judicial review proceedings. It is a personal opinion of mine that somebody who is not directly impacted by a planning decision should not be allowed to contest and challenge it either at the local authority stage or subsequently in a judicial review.
I appreciate that the officials from the Courts Service are here to answer specific questions about how the process is managed as opposed to how the legislation is interpreted, but it is important to put that point forward.
Regarding this stages of an individual taking a judicial review case, am I correct that in the first instance the application is made to the High Court for leave to bring the judicial review? Does the Courts Service have any data about how many of those cases fall at that stage?
Ms Angela Denning:
I will get data. However, from my past experience as registrar dealing with these cases for a long number of years, I know that very few fall at that stage. That is down to the legal thresholds. It is a legal question as to whether people have been involved, the level of involvement and whether they can pass that threshold. I believe that is covered in parts of the 2024 Act.
Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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When somebody gets past that initial stage and then gets permission to bring forward the case, what is the average time it takes from step 1 to step 2?
Ms Angela Denning:
It very much depends on the case. Where the parties go for the expedited procedure and they have legal teams who know everything about planning, that can move relatively quickly. If everybody stuck to the time limits in the rules, everything would be done in four or five months. Unfortunately, that does not always happen for various reasons. People may look for extra time to prepare their papers. There is a big difference between a case where a developer has been refused permission by the coimisiún and a case where an individual does not want their next-door neighbour building an extension that may block their light or whatever it may be. The smaller the case, the longer it is likely to take.
In cases that are strategically issued to try to stop developments going ahead, one party there is not interested in getting the case moving quickly. The good thing is that consent is not required to use the expedited procedure. That is something judges are very clear about. In the new rules, the judge can decide that he or she will use the expedited procedure and that will speed things up. Some of the simple tweaks to the list have actually speeded things up. For example, the applicant is responsible for uploading the papers onto a share file. All those kinds of things have brought clarity as to whose job it is to do different parts of the procedure. Because of that clarity, fewer people are coming into court asking for directions on it or back and forth between the parties in correspondence, and then they come into court looking for another adjournment because they need to sort something out.
Our legal system is adversarial and much of it is left to the parties to sort out between themselves. However, directions are now given fairly early in the procedure so that everybody knows where they stand and knows the workload ahead of them. The view of the court is that the judges want to spend less time dealing with procedural matters and more time hearing actual cases. Therefore, they will make orders on the papers, and try to sort out directions and things like that between the parties by correspondence rather than wasting court time dealing with it.
Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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This committee is interested in trying to fast-track the delivery of infrastructure, be that houses, hospitals or whatever other key State infrastructure. If there were to be changes, what changes would Ms Denning like to see that could speed up the process for the case getting from when the initial application for permission is granted to the case being substantively heard?
Ms Angela Denning:
In the process we have those new rules; they are only a month old. They codified what the judges in the list were doing anyway but they need to be given a bit of time to bed in. From our perspective, the big one is resources to hear the case and then to get to that stage where the President of the High Court could allow judges out of court immediately after they hear a case to write their judgment and give the decision. That would really speed up that end of it. If the time limit is reduced, fewer people would strategically bring cases to delay developments.
Cathal Byrne (Fine Gael)
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Individual cases can go on for any length of time. It is important for us to get to grips with what can be controlled, for instance, how long it takes to get to the court even though we cannot decide how long the case will be in court. I am trying to get a better understanding of that. I ask Ms Denning to come back to the committee with the information as to how many of those applications for judicial review are refused at the first stage.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Will Ms Denning be able to provide information on the percentage of cases that go through the expedited procedure? If she does not have that to hand, perhaps she might send it on to us.
Further to what she said, I have often heard people say when they are not happy with a development, "Sure, we'll go for a judicial review and it'll take as long as it takes." They feel the other side might give up and not proceed with the development. Ms Denning was mirroring that in what she was saying. Some people are not that interested in progressing the case. They just want their case there possibly to delay or maybe even sometimes to kill off a development. Is that something the Courts Service is conscious of?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Does the judge ever offer the parties six months and if they are not back with their stuff, he will dismiss the case, make a ruling or whatever? Can that happen? Does that happen?
Ms Angela Denning:
The courts are very conscious of that. As it is an adversarial system, people will try to play either the delay or the cost. Those are the two levers people have in these cases. That is why it is important that we try to keep them moving along and that we have the resources to keep the cases moving.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Some people might regard taking a judicial review as an abuse of process. While I am not saying it is a fact, anecdotally we hear people who are involved in these saying that. In a roundabout way we are more or less saying the same thing. The judge will spot if somebody is not really co-operating with getting the case moved by sitting there.
Ms Angela Denning:
We need to remember that judicial review does not just apply to planning matters; judicial review applies to any decision. It is an oversight provided by the Constitution to ensure that power does not go to any of our heads. The important part is that supervisory power. As long as decision makers stick within the guardrails of what they are supposed to do, judicial review will not work. The other side of it is if public bodies are under pressure to make decisions quickly, they say that mistakes are more inclined to be made, they do not have time to train staff and so on. It all feeds into the system. We need to remember that judicial review is a very important component of our democratic set-up.
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I thank the witnesses. I want to go back to the 2023 OECD report, which recommended a 26.2% increase in full-time judges. What percentage increase has the Courts Service received since that report was published?
Ms Angela Denning:
We have had 24 additional judges enter the system. We had eight in the District Court; eight in the Circuit Court; six in the High Court; and two in the Court of Appeal. The proposal is to appoint another 20 this year, which would bring us up to a 25% increase over the two- to three-year period.
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The OECD report identified a need for 108 additional judges. Those increases will bring us up to about half of that number so. If we were to follow the recommendations of the OECD report, would that comprehensively deal with the backlogs in the Courts Service? Is it a question of resourcing? I will get on to the question of modernisation in a minute.
Ms Angela Denning:
Regarding additional judges, we could have one judge for every case. In an ideal world we would have judges waiting for cases to come in, as happens in some countries. That is not the system we have here.
One of the recommendations of the judicial planning working group is that the number of judges is reviewed every number of years and that a system is put in place to do that. Traditionally, if a backlog of work grew in an area, the president of that court would write through the Attorney General and say we need additional judges. That is not an ideal situation. You are always reactive. Ideally, we would have enough judges in place to ensure the backlogs do not develop.
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Has the passage of the Judicial Appointments Commission Act delayed the appointment of judges?
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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On inefficiencies in the court system, could Ms Denning give the committee an idea of the work the court has done on automated court management? What are the funding requirements for the digital strategy? How much funding has the service received? How much funding does the Courts Service need? What work is being done to make the current IT system fit for purpose? That is really important as well
Ms Angela Denning:
We have come from a very low base and we have improved dramatically. We now have 165 tech-enabled courts nationwide. We have Wi-Fi in every courthouse in the country, apart from the CCJ. That will be sorted out this summer. There were problems with the Wi-Fi there.
There is work ongoing on a new, single case management system where all of our cases across all jurisdictions and all case types will be dealt with in the one system with staff having one view, the judges having a different view and the ability for practitioners to lodge their cases online. The first part of that, which is the staff part, has gone live for the High Court civil work, for the probate office, and for family law in the Circuit Court. The portal part, which is the judicial view and the practitioner view, has gone live for Circuit Court family law in Dublin as a pilot in recent weeks.
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Is there an implementation plan that Ms Denning could share with the committee-----
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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-----or what has been implemented by the judicial planning working group and the funding requirements to implement the rest of it?
Ms Angela Denning:
The judicial planning working group implementation is overseen by the Department of Justice. There is a steering group there and they report to Government once a year on that. In terms of our modernisation programme, the executive reports to the Courts Service board. Our most recent three-year strategy was published last October. That set out our plans for the next three years for digitisation. A big part of that is to get all of our cases onto that unified case management system over the next year so people can engage with us digitally properly as opposed to just emailing in cases.
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I have one final question. The Court Service was initially allocated €191 million in budget 2024 and €196 million in budget 2025.
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Could Ms Denning give us an idea of what is needed in budget 2026?
Ms Angela Denning:
I cannot answer that here. We are in the middle of the Estimates process and it will have to go through the process. What I can say is that from the 2024 budget, we spent €75 million on pay. We spent €47.8 million on non-pay. IT spend was just more than €20 million. Our capital court houses were €5.7 million. Our public-private partnership, PPP, unitary payments for the Criminal Courts of Justice were €23.8 million-----
Conor Sheehan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Is funding an issue for the Courts Service?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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I thank the witnesses for attending. Considering the Courts Service remit is so broad and ours is so narrow, does Ms Denning get the sense there is an emergency around infrastructural development and planning for the cases that are coming forward? Does she get the sense of urgency that there is an emergency?
Ms Angela Denning:
Absolutely. The judge in charge of the list has established a user group that comprises people from county councils, somebody from An Coimisiún Pleanála, the Chief State Solicitor's Office, both small practitioners and bigger firms, members of the environmental law association and so on. I remember when I was the registrar on the list, a barrister came in and said to me we will have a lot of cases about solar farms. You get wind of that and then the discussions happen between the judges on the list, the Courts Service and the president of the court to see what can be done. With the breadth of our remit, the challenge we have is we have emergency bombs going off all over the place at times. It is a bit like whack-a-mole; you solve one problem and another one pops up. That is the reality of it. There are limited resources that have to be divided up and it is about how best to divide them to make sure there are no catastrophic problems anywhere.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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There have been a good few references towards resources on judges, Ms Denning's own staff and so on. She referenced a match and providing the stadium. Have we too many stadiums? Have we too many courts? Have we enough? Are they being sweated as assets? Are we using them to the extent we should be?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Are there enough days during the week for courts to sit?
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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That is an increase to 26,500 days.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Can they be related directly to planning and environment?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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In terms of sitting days, however. Are there cancellations or are there deferrals? Do witnesses not turn up? What waste or leakage is there in the system?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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What was that figure for 2024?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Just as a comparison, because there were three judges dedicated to it in 2024.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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There are three dedicated judges and 190 days.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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That is this year. We will probably have 120 days per judge, which is probably two days a week, give or take.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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That is true but once it is in hearing, how long does it take? Is it in and out in the same day?
Ms Angela Denning:
It depends. The judge in charge of the list has instigated new procedures on that as well. He has divided cases up into different groups and categories. The expedited cases, such as the strategic infrastructure cases and so on, are to be dealt within three and a half hours - within one day.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Should this become a broader practice in general, although, obviously, not in every court?
Ms Angela Denning:
It is needed for this list. Bear in mind, if this was to be done for every type of case right across the system, the parties would need much more resources. For example, if there is a dispute between neighbours where two people do not like whatever it might be, it would put the neighbours on the line for the cost of that. For these type of cases and the cases that are in that expedited procedure, it works. The judge has cases that can be dealt with on the papers so nobody comes into court at all. He just reads the papers and gives the decision. There are cases where the judge sees an issue and says he wants to hear the parties on the issues. Those issues are dealt with on a Monday afternoon and take between 60 and 90 minutes. Injunction applications are dealt with in between 60 and 90 minutes.
The standard hearing is two to three days. It is three days maximum.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Will Ms Denning send a note on all of that?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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On that point, there is an enabling effect. That is an issue that has been introduced to make a positive impact and try to expedite the process. What are the outstanding disrupting or disruptive pieces that we need to address?
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Have we pushed it as far as we can in the enabling piece?
Ms Angela Denning:
These new rules are less than a month old and they need to be given time to bed in to see the impact on the process of the moving of cases through the list. They codified a lot of what was there previously but the Heather Hill judgment is not that old realistically. In court time it is not that old so this is only bedding down now as well. We will have the changes that come with the commencement of the new Act but I believe this is one of the areas where the rules need to be given a bit of a chance to work.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Ireland is not the only country in the world experiencing housing shortages and issues with supply and construction. Has any international benchmarking been done where there would have been similar pinch points in their court services for delivery? If the Courts Service has any comparisons done in that area, the witnesses might share them.
Ms Angela Denning:
I work with my colleagues at the same level in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland in relation to all court administration matters because wherever we see pinch points it is very rare that one would see something and be the first. We have an advisory group for our modernisation programme - a senior judge from England is there, and his predecessor was a judge from Australia - to get advice on where things have gone wrong in other countries so we do not replicate those mistakes and to learn from the good things that people have done in other countries.
John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Has that proven beneficial?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I will start with the obligatory thanks to the witnesses for coming in, which it seems we all have to say. I am getting used to the committees here. Obviously we have different topics coming in. Infrastructure is a strange one because we can jump all around the map. It is funny. When I was talking earlier with one of our colleagues, Senator Stephenson, we said that one of the issues we have as a committee is that one week it is Irish Water, the next week it is somebody else, and the next week it is somebody else again. This week it is the Courts Service because, in fairness, it has become topical. From listening to the other speakers, it strikes me that it is good to listen to other people before speaking because everybody can come in on different topics in different ways. Deputy Sheehan was more focused on the courts systems, and someone else could focus on planning. I want to touch on both but primarily we were invited in to discuss planning so I might start off with that as the key issue.
One thing I heard for many years when I was a councillor was that judicial reviews had become more common. The witnesses have provided the statistics but would it be correct to say that they have become more common? Is it correct to say that? Why am I hearing more about it?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Just in relation to planning.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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This is just what comes out at the other end.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Ms Denning said earlier that she does not really care, or is agnostic, as to who is in it and who wins, but at the same time has she noticed any trends? What type of person is bringing the cases? The risk, obviously, with a judicial review is that somebody is trying to play the system and to delay the decision. It might suit them to delay the decision. That is my experience as I have seen it. It is someone almost meddling and using the system. This is what I have seen. Has Ms Denning seen that?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Yes. It is someone being obstructively against a decision.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is what I am talking about, yes.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Yes. Maybe it is a decision on EirGrid lines, for example, or something like that, which may have gone your way and yet they bring a judicial review.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Yes. I would not want it to be used as a weapon and I wonder if it is becoming more common. Ms Denning is saying that anecdotally she is hearing it might be, but at the same time-----
Ms Angela Denning:
Again, it is quite difficult because up until a couple of years ago planning cases were not divided out from the normal judicial review non-jury list. Then they were divided out into the strategic infrastructure list, as part of the commercial list, but they had to have commerciality - they had to be worth over €1 million - in order to go onto that list. So there were still some cases in the non-jury judicial review list and some cases in the commercial list, and then we would have injunction applications coming in, perhaps over the summer, and a judge would keep them. We never had a complete picture really until last year of all of the planning and environmental matters as they stood.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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What is the cost of bringing a judicial review? I know this is an open-ended question but what is the initial cost?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Obviously there should be a negative because, for example, if I was trying to cause a problem or meddle in a decision there should be some sort of initial-----
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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But I could start the process and would not have to follow through.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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A person might have deep pockets. This is what I am wondering. What would be the typical cost? This is why I am asking.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is what I am talking about. What is the typical cost in that situation?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I am just curious because there should be-----
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is the thing. Someone might have deep pockets and might have solicitors on the go to bring a judicial review just because they know it is upsetting someone else.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Can a judicial review be pulled halfway through a process so they do not have to go through it, and it is, therefore, just meddling?
Ms Angela Denning:
They can. However, section 36(b)(2) of the new rules provide:
Where a consent order involves the striking out, dismissal or withdrawal (whether unilaterally prior to service, or on consent following service) of the proceedings, the order must be dealt with in open court and shall be accompanied by a written declaration by each applicant ... that the termination of the proceedings is not for the sole or improper purpose of securing the payment of any consideration to, or the doing of any other thing for the benefit of, any person.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Okay. That is interesting in itself. I will change tack and perhaps go back to being slightly parochial. Will Ms Denning clarify if it is 193 judges across the country?
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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At 100 venues. So that is 100 courthouses.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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I am in north Kildare. A lot of people might use the courts in Dublin, but a courthouse like Naas Courthouse is in an area of growing population and growing demand, as referred to earlier. How do we go about getting extra judges to deal with backlogs of cases, and extra buildings if there is a lack of facilities in a place like Naas? I am using Naas only as an example. How can we expand Naas Courthouse and get through more cases?
Ms Angela Denning:
In Naas for example, the Courts Service purchased a site at the rear of the courthouse in 2023 in order to expand the courthouse because we were looking at demographics and so on. The population has grown. Naas deals with District Court and Circuit Court cases. It is a matter for the president of each court to assign judges for the workloads that are there. Kildare also has Athy Courthouse. There are no significant issues there.
We are putting in a network there to get videoconferencing into Athy. I understand that is imminent and it will be in place for a Circuit Court case later this year. On the allocation of funding, the expansion of Naas is actually in the national development plan but it just has not been funded to date.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Okay. I will get on to the relevant Minister. He is in PAC tomorrow and I might have a chat with him. We need extra funding there and extra judges. Will it be the Courts Service who will be assigning, not extra judges per se but-----
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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The service lets people know that we need them as they can see there are extra services required.
Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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That is what I am saying. The Courts Service notes it and-----
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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We will suspend for ten minutes for a vote in the Dáil.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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We are resuming our discussion with the Courts Service on planning and infrastructure matters specifically.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Deputy Neville spoke a little bit about judicial reviews being used in an obstructive way. He touched on the point I was making around the data and trying to figure out if that is indeed the case. In response to him, I think Ms Denning said there has been an increase in developers taking out judicial reviews.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Ms Denning touched on this already but I want to put on record that people have a right to challenge decisions. I know she knows that but there can be quite a negative narrative as well around judicial reviews. Obviously, people have a right to challenge planning decisions and we do have planning decisions which are sometimes bad for communities. It is really important to highlight that constitutional right. I am glad Ms Denning touched on that as well in her reply to somebody else. Particularly with the Aarhus Convention and for the environmental justice piece, it is really fundamental. Ms Denning said this herself but for other members, I warn against the use of expediting cases as a standard process.
In some instances, that limits fair access to justice by restricting hearings. It is fine in a special case, but if it were to be rolled out across the board as a sort of solution to the backlog, I think that would be limiting. I do not know if Ms Denning wishes to comment on this, but I think it would limit access to justice.
Ms Angela Denning:
The view of the judge in charge of the list is that the expedited procedure is there. Certainly, in the context of some of the environmental cases, European legislation states they shall be dealt with in a certain period of time. There are other cases where it makes no sense to allow parties to drag things out. There is also strategic infrastructure, if we look at things that are of national importance.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Absolutely, yes. I suppose a degree of flexibility is provided.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Yes, but I would probably argue it should not be in some instances if it would limit people's access to justice.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Yes, absolutely. Regarding prioritisation and the specialised lists, and while I recognise what she is saying around EU law, does Ms Denning think there is any concern with those processes around access to justice in light of the Aarhus Convention?
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Just the reducing of the time for the hearing.
Ms Angela Denning:
That was a decision made by the court to try to meet the balanced expectations of the court. European law in relation to the environment provides - it is there in the purpose of the legislation - that cases shall be dealt with in a manner in keeping with the heightened obligation concerning, in particular, proceedings such as the EU law obligation of expedition in relation to renewable energy projects. Some parts of legislation, therefore, expect that a hearing will be provided in a reasonable time. I suppose the question then is what a reasonable time is. You cannot say to somebody they can have a hearing in six months but that hearing can also take six months. We must think about everybody else on the list as well. The judges are trying to make the best of the resources that are there to try to get as many cases on as possible as quickly as possible, and calls have to be made.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Absolutely. Ms Denning talked about many of the changes being very new and that time will be needed to evaluate their effectiveness. Going back again to the Aarhus Convention and Ireland's obligations, based on what Ms Denning has seen so far with the new changes, does she think they will ensure compliance with those obligations, from her perspective?
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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In terms of the timely and effective access to justice.
Ms Angela Denning:
That is the intention of these different procedures for different types of cases. The judge in charge of the list can look at the particular case and the particular parties and say this type of a hearing will get this case on the quickest for the type of case it is. I think that is very important.
Patricia Stephenson (Social Democrats)
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Yes. It will improve access to justice is Ms Denning's view.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Would anybody else like to contribute? Deputy Cronin.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. I had to leave for a short while but I caught up on MS Teams. Going back to Part 9 of the 2024 Act, the changed rules on judicial reviews and the removal of the need to apply for leave, it is true that Ireland ranks very low in terms of our spending on the judicial system by the State. I do not mean what they earn. Ms Denning said we need to see the new laws and the new court procedures bed in, but is it not the case that this is going to be very much up in the air and we cannot really say yet whether we think there will be many more cases arising out of the changes in Part 9?
Ms Angela Denning:
We just have to wait and see. From our perspective, we keep an eye on it. We are part of the Housing for All group. The user group will also feed information back to us so we can assist the President of the High Court by giving him data that will then allow him to decide how many judges he allocates to the list.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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The extent of changes to the rules on judicial reviews in Part 9 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 saw it go from taking up five pages in the 2000 Act to 25 pages in the 2024 Act. That is a fivefold increase so it is bound to result in more cases.
Ms Angela Denning:
It depends. From my reading of it at a high level, the new Act will restrict who can apply in certain circumstances and will change some of the thresholds. Whether that will make more or less work for us, we do not know yet. It may be that communities right around the country decide that, just in case somebody decides to build a development beside them, every housing estate will set up a partnership.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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How long could it take, if more staff and more resources will be needed, to meet an increased need, if that happens?
Ms Angela Denning:
We run competitions at the level concerned here, including court registrars. We run competitions for the High Court twice a year. We can get office staff through the Public Appointments Service system. We can run local competitions in the event that the Public Appointments Service does not have panels in place and we can also use staff mobility across the Civil Service. We can get staff in quite quickly. It takes a little bit of time to train staff, but I would be confident that if I knew judges were coming and were going to be assigned to the list, I would get the staff in.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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Ms Denning said that the Courts Service was founded about 27 years ago. What was in place before it?
Ms Angela Denning:
There was a courts division in the Department of justice and it dealt with the administration of the courts. Then there were the senior registrars, the registrars of the Supreme Court and the High Court. There were also C and D operations. For certain District Courts, they reported in to the Department of justice.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I am not very familiar with the courts system, so that was just a background question.
Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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I thank Ms Denning very much.
Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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Okay. We have covered the ground. At this stage, I thank Ms Denning for assisting the committee today in this important matter. I ask that any information we requested but that was not available today be provided to the committee within two weeks from today. Mention was made of the Housing for All committee and the other committee. Ms Denning might send us some information from her perspective on that aspect. It was mentioned that the president was chairing some group as well in relation to deciding which areas were to be given priority at different times or something like that. She might send us a note on that. If there are any issues supplying the information, I ask that the clerk be informed as soon as possible.