In April 2025, the Environmental and Planning Law Committee’s subcommittee on the Aarhus Convention contributed to the Law Society’s submission in response to the Department of the Environment consultation on the draft Aarhus Convention National Implementation Report 2025, concerning access to justice in environmental matters.

Rachel Minch was invited to speak on behalf of the committee at a Bar Council event on ‘climate-conscious lawyering’ on 29 May 2025. Rachel also featured on the Irish Planning Institute’s May 2025 podcast to discuss the new Planning and Development Act.

In October, committee members contributed comments to the Planning and Environment Court’s user-group consultation on the new draft practice direction, now Practice Direction HC126.

The committee’s annual CPD conference took place on 13 November 2025. It included sessions on developments in climate litigation, enforcement, biodiversity and renewable energy, and an update on recent planning legislation. The keynote speech was delivered by Mr Justice Gerard Hogan on the topic of ‘Reflections on current planning and environmental law’. Other speakers and topics included developments in climate litigation, both domestically and internationally, featuring Suzanne Murray SC, Dr Andrew Jackson, and Dr Orla Kelleher; enforcement, delivered by Fintan Valentine SC and Dr Tom Ryan; biodiversity and renewable energy, delivered by Dr Alison Hardiman, Mark Thuillier, and Una Crosse (assistant director of planning in An Coimisiún Pleanála); and an update on the Planning and Development Act 2024 from Paul Hogan (assistant secretary and head of the planning division at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage).

Other highlights included an interview on RTÉ Radio 1 on 20 March 2025 regarding the consultation on cabins and modular homes. In addition, the committee and its work was spotlighted in the June 2025 issue of the Gazette.