Stephen Hughes BL

Stephen practices in the area of administrative and public law, specialising in Planning, Local Government and Environmental Law.

Stephen has appeared before the Court of Justice (CJEU) and at every level of the Irish Courts, where he has acted on behalf of a range of clients including An Bord Pleanála, Local Authorities, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA), the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), environmental NGOs and commercial property developers. Areas of Practice include Judicial Review (in particular Commercial Planning and Environmental Law), Civil and Criminal Environmental Enforcement (including statutory planning injunctions, building control enforcement, waste management enforcement), and Local Government Law (including rating law).

Stephen is called to the Bar of Ireland and to the Bar of England & Wales (Middle Temple).

Stephen holds an LLB and LLM from Queen’s University Belfast.

Stephen is a Committee Member of the Planning, Environmental and Local Government Bar Association (PELGBA).

Selected cases in which written judgments have been delivered listed below. Advises extensively on Planning, Local Government and Environmental Law.

CJEU:

• Case C-9/22 An Bord Pleanála and Others (Site de St Teresa’s Gardens)
• Case C-166/22 Hellfire Massy Residents Association

Irish Courts:

• Gaffney v. An Bord Pleanála [2025] IEHC 18
• Eco Advocacy CLG v. An Bord Pleanála [2025] IEHC 15
• Nagle View Turbine Aware Group v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 603, [2025] IEHC 3, [2025] IESCDET 41
• McCaffrey and Sons Ltd v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 315,  [2024] IEHC 476, [2024] IESCDET 145
• Friends of the Irish Environment CLG & Anor v. Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage & Ors (OPR) [2024] IEHC 588
• Kennedy v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 570
• Duffy v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 558
• Grall v. Meath County Council and An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 552
• Kelly v. An Bord Pleanála and Roscommon County Council & Ors [2024] IEHC 468
• Save Roscam v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 335
• Carrownagowan Concern Group v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IECA  234, [2025] IESCDET 8
• Carrownagowan Concern Group v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 300, [2024] IEHC 549, [2025] IESCDET 9
• Murphy v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 59, [2024] IESCDET 98
• North Great George’s Street Preservation Society v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 241
• Maguire T/A Frank Pratt & Sons & Ors, Phoenix Rock Enterprises v. An Bord Pleanála [2022] IEHC 707, [2023] IEHC 209, [2023] IESCDET 96, [2023] IESCDET 97
• Hickwell Ltd & Anor v. Meath County Council [2022] IEHC 418, [2022] IEHC 631
• Hellfire Massy Residents Association v. An Bord Pleanála [2021] IEHC 424, [2021] IEHC 636, [2021] IEHC 771, [2022] IEHC 2, [2022] IESCDET 21, [2022] IESC 38, [2023] IEHC 591
• An Bord Pleanála v. Patton Bros Quarry Limited [2024] IEHC 546
• Ballyboden Tidy Towns Group v. An Bord Pleanála & Ors [2021] IEHC 648, [2022] IEHC 1, [2022] IESC 47
• Save the South Leinster Way v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 577, [2024] IESC 55
• Conway v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 178
• Tesco Ireland Ltd v. Stateline Transport Ltd. (Fingal County Council) [2023] IEHC 587, [2024] IECA 46
• Oxigen Environmental Unlimited Company v. Offaly County Council [2024] IEHC 363
• Kelly v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 364
• GOCE  Ltd v. An Bord Pleanála [2024] IEHC 554

• Toole v. Minister for Housing (No. 6) (MARA) [2023] IEHC 592

• Fernleigh Residents Association v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 525
• Four Districts Woodland Habitats Group v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 335

• Grafton Group PLC v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 725

• Leech & Anor v. An Bord Pleanála [2023] IEHC 279, [2024] IEHC 599
• O’Lone v. An Bord Pleanála & Ors [2023] IEHC 136
• Konisberry v. An Bord Pleanála  [2024] IEHC 194
• Abbey Park and District Residents Association v. An Bord Pleanála [2022] IEHC 201
• Environmental Trust Ireland v. An Bord Pleanála [2022] IEHC 540
• Save Roscam Peninsula CLG & Ors v. An Bord Pleanála [2022] IEHC 202
• O’Brien & Anor v. An Bord Pleanála [2022] IEHC 18
• Massey v. An Bord Pleanála [2021] IEHC 783
• Clonres CLG & Ors An Bord Pleanála [2021] IEHC 303
• Sweetman v. An Bord Pleanála (Bradan Beo Teoranta, EPA) [2021] IEHC 777
• Carvill & Anor v. Dublin City Council & Anor [2021] IEHC 544
• Kerins v. An Bord Pleanála [2021] IEHC 369, [2021] IEHC 612, [2021] IEHC 733, [2023] IEHC 186, [2023] IEHC 280
• Moore v. An Bord Pleanála [2021] IEHC 349, [2021] IESCDET 124
• Sweetman v. An Bord Pleanála (Kilsaran) [2021] IEHC 259
• Dublin City Council v. An Bord Pleanála [2020] IEHC 557, [2021] IEHC 34, [2023] IECA 155
• O’Neill v. An Bord Pleanála (Dublin City Council) [2020] IEHC 356
• O’Connor v. Offaly County Council [2020] IECA 72
• Mount Juliet Estates Residents Group v. Kilkenny County Council [2020] IEHC 128
• Morgan v. Slaneygio Limited [2019] IECA 155
• McArdle & ors v. Carroll [2019] IEHC 850
• Hayes & ors v. An Bord Pleanála & ors [2018] IEHC 338
• Director of Public Prosecutions v. Casey & anor [2018] 2 IR 337
• Wicklow County Council v. Beattie [2018] IEHC 282, [2019] IEHC 18
• SC SYM Fotovoltaic Energy Srl v. Mayo County Council & ors [2018] IEHC 20, [2018] IEHC 81, [2018] IEHC 245
• McCoy & anor v. Shillelagh Quarries Limited & ors [2017] IECA 185, [2017] IESCDET 120
• St. Margaret’s Concerned Residents Group & ors v. Dublin Airport Authority Plc [2017] IEHC 694,[2018] IEHC 66, [2018] IESCDET 101
• An Taisce & ors v. An Bord Pleanála & ors [2017] IEHC 634, [2019] IEHC 40
• An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland v. McTigue Quarries Limited and ors [2016] IEHC 620, [2016] IEHC 701, [2019] 1 ILRM 118
• Moore v. Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht [2016] IEHC 150, [2018] 3 IR 265

Stephen is co-author (with Christopher Hughes BL) of International Protection Act 2015: Annotated (2020, Clarus Press) and Criminal Procedure in the District Court: Law and Practice (2015, Clarus Press).

Stephen has delivered CPD presentations to the Planning, Environmental and Local Government Bar Association (PELGBA) and the Irish Environmental Law Association (IELA) and has delivered lectures/workshops as part of the Law Society of Ireland’s Diploma in Environmental & Planning Law and the King’s Inns Advanced Diploma in Planning & Environmental Law.