Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Sections 41 and 42 are important provisions relating to judicial review and efforts have been made to align the relevant provisions of the Bill to those already in law. Subsection (2) provides that the validity of an act done in performance of a function under Chapter 6 or the validity of a licence granted in relation to a matter in Chapter 6 for which an environmental impact assessment or appropriate assessment is required is questioned by way of judicial review. This will not prevent judicial reviews of other provisions.

I consider subsection (3) a standard provision in relation to judicial review . What is provided under the Bill proposedly mirrors the provisions in place under the Planning and Development Act. This is to ensure the Bill is aligned to statutory codes already in operation. Similarly, the timeframes specified under section 41 are purposely aligned to those in place under the Planning and Development Act. The eight-week period seeks to prevent a situation arising where extensive works carried out in advance of the application for judicial review. Importantly, if there is good reason to extend this timeframe, subsection (9) enables the High Court to do so.