Discussion on whether Ireland should enshrine environmental rights into its constitution remains a ‘live question, the urgency of which is only likely to grow’, a new study by Maynooth University has stated.
The study, Constitutionalising Environmental Rights – Practical Insights into the Irish Context, which was undertaken by Dr Orla Kelleher and Dr Mary Dobbs of the School of Law and Criminology at Maynooth University, notes that at present, there are ‘no express constitutional environmental rights’ in Ireland, however recent efforts have been made to amend this.
Recent recommendations
In April 2023, for example, the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss (CABL) recommended that a referendum be held on inserting environmental human rights and Rights of Nature into the Constitution.
This was followed by a report by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment and Climate Action, which looked into the issue further, and while the government adopted a report responding to the CABL recommendations in October 2024, no further effort was made to address the referendum recommendations in detail.
‘Environmental rights are a potentially valuable tool to […] enhance environmental ambitions within policy and legislation,’ the authors state. ‘Such rights are gradually increasing in presence internationally including within treaties, resolutions and national constitutions.’
‘Interrelated crises’
The authors note that like many other countries, Ireland faces ‘interrelated biodiversity, climate change and pollution crises’, and while progress has been made in some areas, ‘persistent issues’ remain with the implementation and enforcement of environmental laws and policies.
The report outlines a number of recommendations for policymakers and legislators in Ireland, ahead of potentially enshrining environmental rights into the constitution:
The full report, which was supported by the Lifes2Good Foundation and Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute, can be found here.
