Environmental rules sidelined when inconvenient

Sir, – In reference to the article Emergency laws will bypass planning process (July 25th), the Government plans to change the law so that environmental rules can be skipped for big projects, making it harder for anyone to challenge those decisions in court.

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said: “It is not for NGOs to use our court system to delay projects. It is a matter for the Government to decide what projects we want to fund and deliver.”

The Climate Act is not a weapon. It is a law passed by the same Government that now wants to get rid of it when it gets in the way. When citizens use it to challenge a planning decision, they are not causing trouble. They are using a right that Ireland promised to protect when it signed an international agreement called the Aarhus Convention.

A government that removes that check, while the EU is already taking Ireland to court for environmental noncompliance, is not building a better future for the Irish people. It is making sure nobody can stop it from cutting corners. Can the Minister be kindly reminded that a healthy environment is the precondition for a healthy economy? – Yours, etc,