Part 9 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 rewrote how planning decisions are challenged in Ireland — abolishing the leave stage, tightening standing, locking pleadings and rebuilding costs. Chapter 1 commenced on 1 August 2025. Because the 2000 Act’s rules still govern decisions made under that Act, practitioners and litigants now navigate two regimes at once. Here is what actually changed.
Judicial review time limits are strict, are sometimes much shorter than three months, and can run from an earlier date than you expect. The courts can refuse late applications even within the stated period if you have not acted promptly. Nothing on this page calculates your deadline. If you believe a decision affecting you may be unlawful, contact a solicitor immediately.
Leave Is Gone — Strike-Out Arrived
Under the 2000 Act, challengers needed the High Court’s leave on substantial grounds before proceedings existed. Under Part 9, proceedings simply issue — and any party may apply to strike out for lack of standing or where the proceedings are bound to fail. The screening function survives with reversed polarity: instead of the applicant persuading a judge to open the door ex parte, the respondent must persuade one to close it, on notice, at its own initiative. How the old gate worked: the leave stage explained.
Standing: Materially Affected or a Participant
Sufficient interest is redefined: an applicant must generally be directly or indirectly materially affected by the matter (an interest not confined to land or money), or have made a submission in the underlying process. Unincorporated bodies such as residents’ associations retain access subject to conditions. The strategic consequence is immediate: lodging observations during the planning process is now the cheapest litigation insurance in Irish law.
Grounds Locked, Remittal Express, Expedition Required
Three further changes discipline the litigation. Grounds are confined to the statement of grounds filed, with amendment only within narrow criteria — the pleading drafted in week one is the case. The court’s power to remit a matter for correction rather than quash the entire decision is made express — expect more surgical outcomes and fewer total do-overs. And section 290 obliges the courts to determine Part 9 reviews as expeditiously as possible consistent with justice.
Costs: A New Architecture, Phasing In
Chapter 2 of Part 9 replaces the old costs rules with a framework built for Aarhus compliance: prescribed scales of legal fees for planning judicial review — the first regulations were made in May 2026 — and an environmental legal-costs financial assistance mechanism, not yet in operation. Meanwhile section 50B of the 2000 Act continues protecting environmental challenges. The applicable costs picture is case-specific and currently moving; treat any confident generalisation, including this article’s, as a prompt for advice. Context: judicial review costs.
What It Means in Practice
- Residents: participate in planning processes — standing may depend on it;
- Challengers: the pleading is everything and the clock is weeks — instruct immediately;
- Developers: strike-out is your new first weapon against weak challenges;
- Everyone: establishing which regime governs is step zero on every file. Our practice: planning & environmental judicial review.
Which Regime Governs Your Decision?
The transition makes step one genuinely technical. One call resolves it - and starts the clock management.
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About the Author
Richard O’Shea, Solicitor practises with Mary Molloy Solicitors (established 1981), advising clients across Ireland on judicial review, public law, immigration and litigation. Richard holds a Diploma in Mediation from the Law Society of Ireland and acts in challenges to decisions of Government departments, tribunals, local authorities and other public bodies. Contact Richard on 01 5827148 or richardoshea@marymolloysolicitors.com.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every farm and family situation is different, and you should obtain advice on your own circumstances before acting. In contentious business, a solicitor may not calculate fees or other charges as a percentage or proportion of any award or settlement.