Planning and Development Act 2024

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Further provisions relevant to environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism

299. (1) The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications may—

(a) after consulting with the Minister and the Minister for Justice, and

(b) with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform,

make regulations for the purpose of enabling this Chapter to have full effect.

(2) Before making regulations under subsection (1), the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications shall have regard to—

(a) the need to ensure that proceedings to which this Chapter applies can be taken by applicants in a manner that is not prohibitively expensive,

(b) the need for equitable and orderly access to the courts for all persons to be ensured in accordance with law,

(c) the need to ensure that court and judicial resources are utilised for the common good and in the interests of justice, and

(d) the cost to the Exchequer of matters to be provided for in such regulations.

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications may, by regulations under that subsection, do one or more of the following:

(a) authorise one or more persons to administer the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism, or such aspects of the mechanism as the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications may prescribe;

(b) prescribe the means by which rates payable under the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism are calculated;

(c) prescribe the manner in which, and means by which, payments under the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism are made, and the information (including an itemised list of the payments made from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism in respect of particular matters or items) that shall accompany such payments;

(d) prescribe categories of legal practitioners who may participate in the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism;

(e) prescribe requirements applicable to or incumbent upon legal practitioners in order to avail of moneys made available from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism;

(f) provide for the keeping of records and accounts regarding the operation of the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism;

(g) prescribe the power of a court to make orders consequential on, or ancillary to, any matter prescribed;

(h) make further provision for the manner in which payments made from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism may be adjudicated upon, whether by the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators or otherwise;

(i) prescribe the form and manner in which, and the period within which, an application to the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism shall be made;

(j) prescribe the form and manner in which information shall be submitted for the purpose of calculating an applicant’s or intending applicant’s financial resources, or determining an applicant’s or intending applicant’s eligibility, under section 297 ;

(k) prescribe the level of financial resources for the purposes of the making of a determination under subsection (3) of section 297 , including different levels of financial resources for different classes of applicants or intending applicants referred to in that section;

(l) prescribe the information to be submitted for the purpose of calculating an applicant’s or intending applicant’s financial resources under section 297 , including different categories of information in respect of different classes of applicant or intending applicant referred to in that section;

(m) prescribe the resources that may be considered to constitute the financial resources of an applicant or intending applicant for the purposes of section 297 , including:

(i) different resources for different classes of applicants or intending applicants;

(ii) where the applicant or intending applicant is not a natural person, resources of a person connected (in such manner as may be prescribed) to the applicant or intended applicant;

(n) prescribe the manner in which the financial resources of an applicant or intending applicant are to be calculated for the purposes of subsection (3) of section 297 ;

(o) prescribe criteria of eligibility, and the form and manner of assessing such criteria, for the purpose of determining under subsection (3) of section 297 whether an applicant or intending applicant is entitled or disentitled to a contribution to the entirety, or part, of the costs properly incurred by the applicant or intending applicant from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism, including:

(i) compliance or lack of compliance by the applicant or intending applicant with a statutory requirement that applies to the applicant or intending applicant;

(ii) whether, in the opinion of the relevant person (within the meaning of section 297 ), the applicant or intending applicant is likely to be considered to have a sufficient interest in matters to which the proceedings relate;

(iii) whether the applicant or intending applicant, in the opinion of the relevant person (within the meaning of section 297 ), is reasonably likely to obtain relief in the proceedings;

(iv) whether the applicant or intending applicant, in the opinion of the relevant person (within the meaning of section 297 ), was in a position to make, but did not make, submissions of a material nature that would have avoided the initiation of the proceedings, to or before the relevant body whose decision, act or failure is at issue in the proceedings;

(v) whether, in the opinion of the relevant person (within the meaning of section 297 ), a reasonably prudent applicant or intending applicant, would be likely to seek the services of a legal practitioner for the proceedings at the applicant’s or intending applicant’s own expense, where such services, while representing a financial obstacle, would not be such as to impose undue hardship upon the applicant or intending applicant;

(vi) whether, in the opinion of the relevant person (within the meaning of section 297 ), a legal practitioner acting reasonably would be likely to advise the applicant or intending applicant to obtain legal representation for the proceedings at the applicant’s or intending applicant’s own expense;

(vii) whether, in the opinion of the relevant person (within the meaning of section 297 ), the proceedings are the most satisfactory means (having regard to all the circumstances of the case) by which the result sought by the applicant or intending applicant may be achieved;

(viii) whether (having regard to all the circumstances of the case) it is reasonable that the applicant or intending applicant is entitled or disentitled to a contribution to such costs;

(p) prescribe the form and manner in which, and the person to which, an appeal from a determination under subsection (3) or (4) of section 297 may be made, and the procedures applicable to the conduct of the appeal.