This Supreme Court judgment was handed down by Mr Justice Hogan on 25 March 2025 in relation to an application made by Friends of the Ardee Bog (the “Applicants”) against An Bord Pleanála, Ireland and the Attorney General (the “Respondents”). The Applicants challenged a decision by An Bord Pleanála directing Louth County Council (the “Council”) not to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or a Natural Impact Statement (NIS) in respect of a proposed development which would pass through a portion of the Ardee Bog, a proposed Natural Heritage Area and located in a Special Protection Area.
As the project began in 2006 with the compulsory purchase of the land, the Council had already cleared much of the hedgerows and so in the present case An Bord Pleanála concluded that, as the area only required some additional felling of trees and hedgerows, an EIA would not be required. An inspector did, however, conduct an appropriate assessment screening stating there was unlikely to be any direct or indirect effects in any Special Protection Area, and therefore an NIS was not necessary.
The Applicants argued An Bord Pleanála’s decision was invalid because it contravened EU regulations by failing to consider the best scientific knowledge and conservation objectives of the area. The Respondent’s countered that the Applicants were not explicit enough in their claim that the existence of valid conservation objectives for Special Protection Areas were a precondition for An Bord Pleanála’s jurisdiction to carry out a valid appropriate assessment screening.
The Court found that granting leave to appeal directly to the Supreme Court from the High Court was necessary in relation to whether An Bord Pleanála’s decision was valid given the failure to consider site-specific conservation objectives for the Special Protection Area. The judgment noted this issue was of general public importance as it could affect a large number of future development projects.
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