The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh O'Brien, has launched a public consultation on a proposal to set a scale of fees for certain environmental judicial reviews under the Planning and Development Act 2024.

The plan is intended to bring greater predictability and proportionality to the State's legal costs in environmental judicial reviews. Officials stress the measure is not designed to limit access to justice or to restrict the right of individuals or communities to challenge decisions.

The initiative forms part of a broader government drive to speed up the delivery of essential infrastructure. This wider reform agenda, led by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, aims to reduce the need for judicial reviews in the first place.

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The government is inviting submissions from across society. While the consultation paper offers guiding questions on the proposals, respondents may address any relevant issues.

Announcing the launch, Minister O'Brien said: "We fully expect the public consultation to attract strong and divergent views, and we welcome input from stakeholders, business and the public alike. This is an important discussion, and it is right that it happens in a transparent and inclusive way."

The consultation document is available on the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment website. The consultation is now open and closes at 5:30pm on Thursday, 15 January 2026.