Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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28. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if his Department intends to conduct a full review of the judicial review process and its effects on the delivery of major infrastructure projects; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54046/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, I have obtained Government approval to prepare a General Scheme of a Civil Reform Bill. The Civil Reform Bill is a key implementation measure of the Kelly Report of the Review of the Administration of Civil Justice.

As part of the Bill, it is my intention to introduce provisions which will codify the existing law on judicial review by placing it on a statutory basis. The measures should achieve greater transparency in the law and lead to a more streamlined review process. Key reforms should ensure that the system cannot be misused on purely technical grounds, costs are reduced where possible and litigants have sufficient standing to properly challenge decisions.

Given the significant challenges currently facing our State in terms of housing shortages, energy deficits, inadequate water supplies and climate change, all of which are exacerbated by the demands of a rising population, we can no longer delay on reform of the judicial review system. I am confident that the Bill will remove weaknesses in the current law, eliminate impediments to progress and deliver reform for the public benefit. I am also confident that measures in the Bill preserve the right of the citizen to ensure that public bodies act lawfully and are accountable for their decisions.

Further and in-depth discussions will take place as part of the pre-legislation scrutiny process of the Civil Reform Bill, where stakeholder views will be sought.