Mark Dearey (Green Party)

This presents a challenge to our party. We all have a background in activism and have been the beneficiaries of pro bono work, in my case in the action against the Sellafield plant which was of exceptional public interest, as was the case concerning Mullaghmore and several others. I do not know how high the hurdle is, but it will be interesting to see how the provision will be interpreted. The public participation directive is a difficult one for people from my political tradition to grapple with and embrace by allowing the public interest to be served by allowing legal challenges to be taken on a pro bono basis. I recognise that in many instances this will remove any prospect of receiving payment to cover administration costs-----