Friends of the Irish Environment CLG v Government of Ireland & Ors (Approved) [2022] IESC 42 (09 November 2022)

Friends of the Irish Environment CLG v Government of Ireland & Ors (Approved) [2022] IESC 42 (09 November 2022)

The Supreme Court held that the National Planning Framework (NPF) was adopted by the Government pursuant to its executive power under Article 28.2 of the Constitution, without any statutory or regulatory provision requiring or regulating its adoption at the relevant time. Therefore, the NPF was not 'required by...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
[2022] IESC 42
Parties
Applicant/appellant: Friends of the Irish Environment CLG; Respondent: Government of Ireland; Respondent: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government; Respondent: Ireland and the Attorney General
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Judgment Date
09 November 2022
Procedural Posture
Judicial Review Appeal / Supreme Court Judgment
Outcome
Appeal dismissed
Legal Topics
Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive, National Planning Framework, National Development Plan, Judicial Review, Interpretation of EU Directives, Planning and Development Legislation
Environmental Law Administrative Law European Union Law Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive National Planning Framework National Development Plan Judicial Review Interpretation of EU Directives +1 more

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Summary, issues, holding and outcome

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Parties

Friends of the Irish Environment CLG

Applicant/appellant

Government of Ireland

Respondent

Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government

Respondent

Ireland and the Attorney General

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Judicial Review Appeal / Supreme Court Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the National Planning Framework (NPF) and/or National Development Plan (NDP) are within the scope of Article 2(a) of the SEA Directive and require environmental assessment before adoption
  2. 2 Whether the assessment carried out before adoption of the NPF was sufficient and met the legal requirements under the SEA Directive, particularly regarding assessment of alternatives
  3. 3 Whether the monitoring provisions in the NPF meet the requirements of Article 10 of the SEA Directive

Ratio Decidendi

The Supreme Court held that the National Planning Framework (NPF) was adopted by the Government pursuant to its executive power under Article 28.2 of the Constitution, without any statutory or regulatory provision requiring or regulating its adoption at the relevant time. Therefore, the NPF was not 'required by legislative, regulatory or administrative provisions' within the meaning of Article 2(a) of the SEA Directive, and the Directive did not apply. The National Development Plan (NDP) was also excluded as a budgetary policy. As a result, no legal obligation to conduct a Strategic Environmental Assessment arose for either plan at the time of their adoption.

Court Disposition

Appeal dismissed

Orders

  • The appeal is dismissed. No order of certiorari is granted.