By Ruth Mercer
The High Court has refused a landowner statutory costs protection in his judicial review challenge to the compulsory purchase of land for the Connemara Greenway near Clifden, County Galway.
Oliver Joyce owns land forming part of the former Galway-to-Clifden railway bed through which the planned Greenway route passes. Galway County Council made a compulsory purchase order in July 2024 covering a 6.75km strip of land, including part of Joyce's property, and An Coimisiún Pleanála confirmed the order in May 2025.
Joyce has separately challenged that confirmation by judicial review. The ruling delivered by Ms Justice Emily Farrell on 16 February 2026 dealt only with whether he was entitled to the special costs protection available in certain environmental judicial review cases.
Joyce argued that the compulsory acquisition fundamentally changed the project from the Greenway authorised in 2013, which he said had been based on permissive access. He contended that the CPO therefore formed part of a new or multi-stage development consent requiring fresh environmental assessment and attracting protection under section 50B of the Planning and Development Act 2000.
The court rejected that argument. Ms Justice Farrell found that the 2013 approval had contemplated the possible use of compulsory purchase powers if agreement with landowners could not be reached. She also found that the fencing now envisaged was within the range considered and authorised in the original process.
Crucially, the Commission had no power when confirming the CPO to redesign or modify the Greenway. Its decision merely enabled Galway County Council to acquire land needed to implement a project already authorised in 2013.
The judge therefore held that the CPO was neither a development consent nor part of a multi-stage consent process and refused section 50B costs protection.
The substantive judicial review remains unresolved. The Commission and council had not yet filed opposition papers when this costs application was considered.