High Court scrutinises 20-year failure to test emissions
The High Court in Belfast has declared that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has failed to properly test diesel emissions as part of MOT testing for two decades.
“A lack of political will and urgency to deal with this crucial issue”: High Court scrutinises 20-year failure to test emissions
The High Court in Belfast has declared that the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) has failed to properly test diesel emissions as part of MOT testing for two decades.
In a judgment handed down this morning (03 July 2026), Mr Justice Adrian Colton held that DfI is in breach of Regulation 12 of the Motor Vehicle Testing Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and article 61 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.
Notably, the judgment states, at para. [169], “…from the court’s perspective it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that there is a lack of political will and urgency to deal with this crucial issue.”
After two decades of inaction, multiple human rights organisations were forced to initiate legal proceedings against the Department in 2023.
Friends of the Earth NI, Public Interest Litigation Support (PILS) and the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People collectively reacted to the news, emphasising that DfI cannot waste any more time:
Speaking after the judgment was handed down, Friends of the Earth NI Director James Orr, said: “It should never have come to this. The Department knew all about its testing requirements. BBC Spotlight brought the failure out into the open in 2018. Why were human rights organisations forced to be the Department’s conscience?”
PILS Director Kate Barry commented, saying: “A scandalous air quality failing has been exposed and must now be rectified. The Department for Infrastructure has had 20 years. It cannot afford to waste any more time on tackling Northern Ireland’s dirty air.”
NICCY Solicitor and Senior Legal and Investigations Officer Peter McGettrick added that: “Our intervention highlighted the severe impacts air pollution can have on children and young people, a vulnerable cohort of society who will live with the effects of climate change the longest. We are happy the Court has recognised that “the efforts of NICCY have been instrumental in pressing the Department to comply with its obligations”. We will continue to monitor the Department’s plans and be ready to step in to defend children’s rights again if necessary.”
Today’s decision means that DfI must make progress and, to quote the judgment at para. [171], implement its plans with “urgency and expedition”. A failure to do so will result in future legal action.
Friends of the Earth NI and PILS also want to thank the committed team of barristers, Monye Anyadike-Danes KC and Aidan McGowan BL, who helped us to hold DfI to account and who worked on a pro bono basis throughout the judicial review process.
The Court also acknowledged that “the advocacy and persistence” of Friends of the Earth NI and NICCY in this case has ensured the issue “remains at the forefront of the Department’s consideration”.