Eco Advocacy

Eco Advocacy was founded in 2015.

We advocate on issues of: -

• Planning and Environmental Law,
• Biodiversity and specifically Invasive Species,
• Sustainability; Energy supply, employment, natural resources
• Conservation.
• Policy

We endeavour to support aspects of environmental sustainability and social justice in a similar way to that of Client Earth in the UK which was founded for similar reasons in the UK in c.2008 and which operates from London and other cities throughout Europe and internationally.

SLAPP Litigation [Legal Intimidation]

SLAPP Litigation has become a major issue for environmental defenders together with investigative journalists / media. SLAPP stands for 'Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation'. Laws are urgently in need of updating to outlaw this practice and the provision of stiff penalties for both perpetrators/ instigators of SLAPP lawsuits and also the lawyers who facilitate them. In fairness most lawyers don't engage in this type of thing, but unfortunately there is a very small minority that does. This is a very serious matter and so we have prepared a dedicated page on the subject.

Find out more on our dedicated SLAPP page.

If you are affected by this, we want to hear from you.

Assistance

Can we help you?

We have expertise in numerous matters including Invasive Species, Planning and Environmental issues, Sustainable energy matters and so on. We have significant experience of the planning system including access to justice. While use of the courts should be a last resort, regrettably recourse to the courts is often necessary in vindicating the rights to the citizen. We have also fostered working relations with a host of other professionals with specialists skill sets who are often necessary in the provision of expert evidence in specialist areas. Naturally we can only pursue such matters when adequate funding is in place.

We also conduct research into various issues of national importance and depend on funding to sustain this aspect of our operations.

Planning Issues

We have a lot of knowledge of the planning process and try to point people in the right direction where they have issues to be dealt with. We are aware that often specialist planning consultants can be cost prohibitive, but may not always be necessary. Likewise many experience enforcement issues around the country and will need direction and assistance on how to deal with statutory authorities. Moreover there are frequently public consultations on various issues of national and regional importance which need to be engaged with.

The Law

Ireland

In Ireland, the coming into force of the 1963 planning act mandated that all developments in Ireland requires planning permission from that date forwards. The local authorities are the primary agencies in the determination of planning applications' except if specific developments are deemed to be a strategic infrastructure, in which case they are dealt with by An Bord Pleanála (The Planning Appeals Board in Ireland) who also deal with planning appeals.

England and Wales

In England, the passing of the Town and Country planning act of 1947 imposed the requirement to obtain planning permission and nationalised the right to develop land in response to a growing concern of urban sprawl and following the Barrow Commission of 1940 and the Scott Committee into rural land use of 1941. The planning system in England was consolidated in the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

We have forged alliances with many specialists within the wider planning/ environmental community, including Hydrogeologists, Land surveyors, Archaeologists, Ecologists, and also with other NGO's. We endeavour to provide support for planning and environmental issues, which frequently arise as a consequence of unauthorised development or the unforeseen results of poorly planned developments.

The extractive industry has been particularly divisive in Ireland during the period from 1998 to present, giving rise to unimplemented reinstatement programs.

Regrettably, Ireland has had a poor record in keeping pace with important international environmental developments and has been the subject of a number of adverse judgments from the European Court of Justice for failure to implement European law e.g. C215-08 and C50-09. Ireland’s delay in ratifying the Aarhus Convention, to which it committed to in 1998, and only implemented in 2012, is but one example.

Eco Advocacy is a company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital. It is registered in Meath, Ireland (Company Reg. No. 612029).

Keep up to date with current environmental / human rights developments by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

https://www.facebook.com/ecoadvocacy/

https://twitter.com/EcoAdvocacy