The High Court has allowed an appeal to proceed on two legal questions arising from approval of the N2 Slane Bypass and Public Realm Enhancement Scheme in County Meath.
Mr Justice Nolan delivered the ruling on 3 July 2026 after John Rogers sought permission to appeal the dismissal of his judicial review challenge to An Coimisiún Pleanála's approval of the project.
The Commission approved Meath County Council's bypass scheme on 27 June 2025. Rogers argued in the substantive proceedings that the Commission had failed to ensure it possessed, or had access to, sufficient expertise to examine the Environmental Impact Assessment Report, as required by EU environmental law and the Roads Act 1993.
The High Court dismissed that challenge on 28 April 2026. However, the judge said the case had raised unresolved questions about the duty of candour owed by public bodies in judicial review proceedings.
The issue was particularly relevant because information about the Commission's expertise was within its own possession and knowledge. Rogers' solicitor had sought information about that expertise shortly before the substantive hearing, but no response was given.
The court held that Irish law has not yet fully settled how far a public body's duty of candour extends in those circumstances. It also identified an important question about how that duty interacts with the usual presumption that an administrative decision is valid unless evidence establishes otherwise.
Mr Justice Nolan said those issues went beyond the individual Slane case and could affect a broad range of judicial review proceedings. He accepted that delay to major infrastructure was a relevant public-interest concern, particularly given the acknowledged safety problems at the River Boyne bridge in Slane. However, that had to be balanced against the possibility of an unresolved breach of EU environmental law in an environmentally sensitive area.
Leave to appeal was therefore granted on two certified questions. A proposed third question concerning judicial doubt was refused.