1730. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if funding is available for community groups opposing planning to support seeking legal advice, third-party engineering reports or other expert advice on the plans. [60519/26]

Ireland has among the most open and participative planning systems in Europe. As a plan led system, citizens are encouraged to have their voices heard in the development plan making process, enabling communities to shape planning matters in their locality. Plans and policies are routinely subject to public consultation, especially where they may impact the environment.

Citizens may make observations on proposed developments in a transparent manner and appeal decisions to An Coimisiún Pleanála, Ireland's independent national planning body. In addition, citizens may make applications for judicial review where processes are perceived as incorrect through a dedicated Planning and Environmental Division of the High Court.

An Coimisiún Pleanála independently reviews its fee structures against the Consumer Price Index at least every three years, whilst Local Authority planning fees have remained unchanged since 2002 and are subject to periodic review by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

In May 2026, the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation signed regulations introducing a new scale of fees for environmental related planning judicial reviews, providing a predictable cost framework for applicants taking judicial reviews and ensuring that costs are not prohibitively expensive so that all citizens may have appropriate access to justice.

My Department has also successfully rolled out e-Planning which has been designed to standardise and streamline the planning application processes across the 31 Local Authorities (LAs) and provide a convenient online-centralised system for members of the public to submit planning applications and submissions on planning matters, improving accessibility and transparency for all. Approximately 80% of all planning applications are now being submitted electronically through this system.