Planning Update March 2024

04 March 2024

On 13 November 2019, An Bord Pleanála granted planning permission and confirmed the Compulsory Purchase Order for the GDD project.

This planning permission was quashed following the issue of legal proceedings and a Court hearing. The planning application was subsequently remitted back to An Bord Pleanála by the High Court in 2021 for a fresh decision. An Bord Pleanála subsequently wrote to Uisce Éireann in August 2022 providing Uisce Éireann the opportunity to update, where appropriate, the Environmental Impact Assessment Report and Natura Impact Statement and any other information submitted. Uisce Éireann submitted a detailed response to this request in October 2023, which is available on www.gddapplication.ie.  An Bord Pleanála will provide direction on the next stages in the planning process in due course.

The proposed project is the most environmentally, technically and economically beneficial solution to meeting Dublin’s long-term wastewater treatment needs. The GDD project is identified as a critical project in the Eastern and Midlands Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy 2019-2031, a strategic policy objective of the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029 and the Dublin City Development Plan 2022-2028.

The delivery of GDD will protect public health, safeguard our environment and facilitate sustainable growth up to 2050 and beyond. A shortfall in wastewater treatment capacity is expected to have serious consequences, inevitably impacting the delivery of housing, commercial growth and development in the GDA, which could impact locally in terms of compliance and potential environmental impacts, while clearly stemming the region’s capacity for economic and population growth.