Eimear Dooley, BL

Barrister, The Bar of Ireland

Eimear Dooley BL has been a practicing barrister since 2022 and practices in criminal, civil and administrative law, with a specific civil focus on land matters, to include construction, landlord and tenant and planning and environmental law. She has a particular interest in judicial review.

She is the recipient of the PELGBA Bursary in 2025 which allowed her to complete the Advanced Diploma in Planning and Environmental Law with the King’s Inns. She is a lecturer in Administrative Law at the Institute of Public Administration and is a currently serving legal panel member at the International Protection Office (Department of Justice). She is the recipient of the 2025 Sanfey Essay Prize in Construction Law.

Contributed to

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Ireland—Planning and Environment Court—practice and procedure

Practice Notes

IntroductionThe Planning and Environment Court is a specialised division of the Irish High Court designed to provide efficient and proportionate case management of legal actions, judicial reviews, and disputes related to planning and environmental law.The Planning and Environmental Court was established with effect from 11 December 2023 by Practice Direction HC124. PD HC137 took effect on 13 April 2026 and was amended with effect from 1 August 2026. The purpose of this Practice Note is to summarise the rules governing practice and procedure in this specialised list.For an overview of the civil courts in Ireland and the principal features of each level of civil court, see Practice Note: Ireland—Civil courts structure.Applicable legislation and rules of courtThe governing legislation of planning and environmental cases, the Planning and Development Act 2024 (Ireland) (PDA 2024 (IRL)) has been enacted and is being implemented in a staged manner. This has resulted in significant planning reform that the Planning and Environmental Court has had to adapt to accommodate. The

Ireland - Dispute Resolution