Patrick Costello (Dublin South Central, Green Party)
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115. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if she will establish in the area of environmental law a specialist planning and environmental law court; and if, given the time-sensitive nature of such cases, she will make a duty judge available on a 24/7 basis to hear applications for interlocutory injunctions in environmental matters such as exists in other jurisdictions such as New South Wales. [16920/22]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, both the Programme for Government and the Government's Housing for All Strategy commit to the establishment of a new division of the High Court dealing with planning and environmental issues.

Programme for Government specifies that the new law court will be managed by specialist judges and established on the same basis as the existing commercial court model. Housing for Allset a timeline for the establishment of the new Court by the end of 2022.

Officials in my Department are working with the Courts Service and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage in advancing the commitment and have put in place an implementation group to progress this matter. The resourcing of the new court, along with its scope, how it will operate and the steps involved in its establishment are among the issues currently being examined by the group.