The High Court deferred a ruling on whether Ballyshannon Action Group can bring judicial review proceedings challenging a planning decision concerning a proposed quarry at Racefield, Ballyshannon, Co. Kildare.
In a judgment delivered on 28 February 2023, Mr Justice Charles Meenan said the group’s interpretation of the relevant planning legislation was persuasive. He did not, however, decide whether the group had the legal capacity to bring the proceedings. He said the appropriate course was to await the European Court of Justice’s determination of questions referred in a separate case.
The challenge concerns An Bord Pleanála’s decision on Kilsaran Concrete’s application to develop a 32.2-hectare quarry on a greenfield site. The judgment describes Ballyshannon Action Group as an unincorporated association comprising more than 229 local residents, who had opposed the development and participated in the planning process.
Kilsaran, named in the proceedings as the notice party, objected to the group being granted leave to seek judicial review. It argued that an unincorporated association has neither standing nor capacity to bring the case because it is not a legal entity with separate legal personality.
The group argued that section 50 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, read with the Interpretation Act 2005, allows an unincorporated body to be treated as a “person”. It also submitted that participation in the planning process gave it a sufficient interest under section 50A. It relied on a separate provision as an alternative basis for capacity.
Mr Justice Meenan found that the group’s reading of sections 50 and 50A was persuasive. He noted that the cited Supreme Court and High Court decisions had not resolved the specific argument before him. The judgment recounts that, in the Dublin 8 Residents Association case, Mr Justice Humphreys referred questions of EU law to the European Court of Justice, including whether an environmental organisation meeting the applicable standing test should have capacity to seek a judicial remedy despite a domestic rule affecting unincorporated associations.
The High Court listed the matter for mention only on 24 March 2023. The judgment does not record a decision granting leave, determine the underlying challenge to the planning decision, or make a final ruling on the group’s capacity.