Planning

Free legal aid for environmental cases in major planning overhaul

The change is primarily for covering the costs of judicial reviews, to ensure the public can still bring environmental justice challenges

Patrick Costello, the Green Party TD who just won his Supreme Court challenge against a trade deal with Canada. Picture: Fergal Phillips

A free legal aid scheme for environmental cases is to be proposed by the government alongside sweeping reforms to the planning system, the Business Post can reveal.

It's understood the new legal aid scheme would be primarily for covering costs of judicial reviews, but could also encompass enforcement actions and other types of cases. The scheme will be available to both environmental groups and individuals.

It is hoped the scheme will help to assuage concerns ...