High Court makes order determining costs, awarding the unsuccessful applicant one half of his costs as against Ireland and the Attorney General, on the grounds that: (a) the applicant should not have to pay the costs of the respondents where it had been in the public interest that the proceedings had been brought as the amendments introduced by the Workplace Relations Act 2015 were significant and had the potential to affect a large segment of society; and (b) the applicant was entitled to recover part of his costs in the circumstances of the case and it was appropriate to make the order against Ireland and the Attorney General where the only issues by the time of hearing were those to which those respondents were legitimus contradictor.
Judgment determining costs order - challenge to constitutional validity of certain provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 dismissed - default position of costs following the event - discretion of court to diverge from this default position - objective of ensuring that individuals are not deterred by the risk of exposure to legal costs from pursuing litigation of a type which, although ultimately unsuccessful, nevertheless serves a public interest - objective of ensuring that unmeritorious litigation is not inadvertently encouraged by an overly generous costs regime - whether proceedings should be characterised as a form of public interest litigation.