The Government has insisted it will continue to “robustly defend” a legal challenge against its new apartment standards following claims there will be a “significant” development in the case on Monday.
Four councillors and journalist and author Frank McDonald last month launched judicial review proceedings against the Coalition’s proposed design standards, which critics have described as being part of a developer-led race to the bottom.
The councillors include Labour’s Darragh Moriarty, the Green Party’s David Healy and Dan Boyle, and Independent Pádraig McEvoy. Mr McDonald is a former environment editor of The Irish Times.
The guidelines being challenged, which were published in July, increased the number of studio apartments that could be built in developments, as well as other changes that the Government argued would close a “viability gap” that has stymied apartment building.
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Labour leader Ivana Bacik claimed the new rules would result in a “lowering” of standards. She said the Chief State Solicitor had sent a letter to Mr Moriarty and others involved in the challenge on Friday night which set out a “significant development” in the case. The letter is to be made public in the High Court on Monday morning, she said.
“There is going to be a significant development before the High Court tomorrow morning in that case,” Ms Bacik told RTÉ’s The Week in Politics. “I cannot say more about it now, but I think I would question the tone of the Tánaiste’s comments on Thursday because he must have known that there is a significant development in that case.”
In the Dáil on Thursday, Simon Harris had asked Labour’s spokesman on housing Conor Sheehan to “pick up the phone to his councillor and tell him to stop weaponising the use of the courts to try to delay changes we need to make to apartment standards”.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s This Week later on Sunday, Ms Bacik said Government Ministers should reflect on “the tone of their comments, particularly when we see what will transpire tomorrow morning in court”.
Speaking on the same programme, Minister of State at the Department of Housing John Cummins said the matter was before the courts but the Government’s position remains that “the design standards are valid”.
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“The Government’s position has not changed. These are the apartment standards that are in place, and we will robustly defend the judicial review.”
In a statement, a spokesman for the Department of Housing said “as the matter is subject to legal proceedings it would not be appropriate to comment”.
But a Government source said its position “has not changed and it will continue to robustly defend the legal challenge”.
“It remains the view of Government that the July 2025 planning design standards for apartment guidelines are operational, lawful and a critical component of improved viability.”
