THE GOVERNMENT HAS signed off on plans to speed up the delivery of infrastructure projects, which are currently held up in the judicial review process. 

Judicial reviews are cases taken by citizens or groups to the High Court. In recent years, such cases have been used to challenge decisions made by An Bord Pleanála on large-scale property developments around the country.

During the summer, the government passed an amendment to last year’s landmark Planning and Development Act, which essentially speeds up the length of time projects get stuck in judicial review. However, it had no impact on judicial reviews that were already underway. 

This change, approved by the Government today, will essentially mean the new process is applicable to judicial reviews that were ongoing before the amendment to the Planning and Development Act was made law in July of this year. 

It is expected that the change will shave approximately two months off the average judicial review process. 

A spokesperson for Minister for Housing James Browne described it as a “key move on the chessboard” when it comes to speeding up planning. 

Browne said the legislation will not be brought forward until early 2026 but that it will “remove barriers in the planning process” and ultimately speed up housing delivery. 

In a statement, he said he was “determined to do everything in my power to speed up planning and cut down on any unnecessary delays”.

“This work will run in parallel with the ongoing implementation and commencement of the 2024 Act, which has continued throughout this year,” he said. 

John Cummins, the junior minister with responsibility for planning said the decision will “shorten timelines, improve certainty and ensure essential projects are not unduly held back by procedural obstacles.”

It comes as the Government has been increasingly critical of people taking judicial reviews against large infrastructure projects. 

Last month, Taoiseach Michéal Martin said judicial reviews are “killing us” when it comes to building major infrastructure in this country.

He noted that Ireland is an “outlier” in the amount of opposition that major projects face. 

Just this week, there has been widespread condemnation of the judicial review taken by 20 Ranelagh residents over the Dublin Metro. 

Paul Davis of DCU said this week that if the judicial review goes ahead, the best case scenario was that it bring a delay of 6-9 months, but 12-18 months was more realistic.

In the worst case scenario, he said there could be a delay of 2-4 years.