Judicial review of National Planning Framework and National Development Plan is refused

Planning and development – judicial review – challenge to the National Planning Framework and National Development Plan - Project Ireland 2040 - strategic environmental assessment – Habitats directive assessment - alleges that the framework was fatally flawed due to shortcomings in the various assessments and due to the lack of certain monitoring and other provisions – framework adopted contrary to European law – NFP and NDP - Chronology leading to adoption of the NPF and NDP - timing issue – alleged that no determination by the government as required by the Habitats Directive – criteria for a determination – in reality the necessary determination had been made by the Minister in advance of the Government meeting - clearly envisaged that the determination and the reasons for making the determination can be reduced to writing after the date on which it is made - duty on public authorities to give adequate reasons for their decisions – Minister complied with his obligation to make a written determination and to give reasons - appropriate for the Minister to be the person who made the determination - effectively a determination made by the Government - Government did validly adopt the NPF and the NDP - alleged inadequate consideration of alternatives - Court is not satisfied that the wording of Art. 5 of the Directive mandates a comparable level of assessment of the reasonable alternatives and the preferred option - requirement to carry out a full SEA only relates to the plan which it is proposed to adopt - the assessment carried out in the environmental report was a reasonable and logical interpretation of the obligation that was cast upon the Government - satisfied that the assessment of the reasonable alternatives contained in the environmental report and the assessment of the preferred option contained therein, was in compliance with the obligation placed on the Government - lack of adequate monitoring - court satisfied that the monitoring provided for in Chapter 7 of the SEA statement and in particular the monitoring provisions as outlined in table 7.1 is sufficient compliance with the obligations in respect of monitoring imposed upon the respondents by the Directive and the Regulations - failure to assess the effects of the nfp on climate change - provisions that are contained in the NPF are designed to reduce to the absolute minimum the effects on climate change and on the environment generally, caused by implementation of the NPF - inadequate consideration of the submissions of the applicant - not necessary for a decision maker to give an individual response to every submission received from a member of the public – Government complied with its obligations under the Directive and the Regulations to give consideration to the submissions that were made by the statutory consultees and members of the public - failure to carry out sea and AA on the NDP – NDP does not require either SEA or AA - judicial review refused –