An Bord Pleanála: Statements Dail Éireann — 2022-09-15 ============================================================ Darragh O'Brien (FF), Dublin Fingal I welcome the opportunity to speak to the House today regarding An Bord Pleanála. An Bord Pleanála, as I have said publicly, stands at the apex of our planning system and plays a crucial role as the final arbiter of many planning applications. In this light, I treat and have treated any allegations of inappropriate actions or behaviours by its members with the utmost seriousness. The public must have trust in the impartiality and integrity of our planning system if it is to function effectively in facilitating the sustainable development this country needs. In the light of recent allegations I want to reassure the House of the significant and swift steps I have taken to ensure the public can have confidence in the integrity of the decision-making process while ensuring it continues to function in facilitating appropriate development. The Government has sought to act, and has acted, openly, quickly, and effectively in responding to the immediate problems, to address underlying issues and to maintain a fully functioning planning system. The actions broadly fall into three categories, namely, dealing with specific allegations of wrongdoing, implementing internal reform of the process, procedures and workforce plans of An Bord Pleanála and a fundamental overhaul of An Bord Pleanála's nomination process and its broader legislative framework. As Members will be aware, I have brought an end to the strategic housing development, SHD, planning arrangements following a commitment made in the programme for Government not to extend them post their legislative expiry. I firmly believe that it is more appropriate for decisions to be taken at a local authority level and our new Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Act 2021 restores decision-making on these schemes to our local authorities. The Government is taking action on a number of fronts to ensure there is a fundamental change to equip us for the future and maintain the full ongoing operation of the system to ensure the right development takes place in the right place at the right time to meet the increasing challenges we face in housing and infrastructural provision. Before getting into the specific matters of concern, I will outline the existing statutory and other provisions relating to the corporate governance of An Bord Pleanála. Under section 147 of the Planning and Development Act, all board members are required to make a declaration of certain interests at least once per year. The register of interests is available for public inspection. Under section 148 of that Act, "[w]here a member of the Board has a pecuniary or other beneficial interest in, or which is material to, any appeal, contribution, question, determination or dispute which falls to be decided or determined [upon] by the Board under any enactment ... he or she shall disclose to the Board the nature of his or her interest" and shall take no part in the discussion, consideration or decision-making on that matter. Failure to comply with sections 147 and 148 is an offence under sections 147(11) and 148(10). In the same manner as other agencies, An Bord Pleanála is subject to the code of practice for governance of State bodies and is required to furnish to the Minister, in conjunction with its annual report and financial statements, a comprehensive report covering that State body, confirming its adherence to the code of practice and that it has a code of conduct in operation. All members of An Bord Pleanála serve in positions subject to the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001, including the making of annual declarations as appropriate. The Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, processes complaints regarding compliance with those Acts. As I previously stated, I do not underestimate the work undertaken by the staff of An Bord Pleanála, which is increasing as we work to meet our targets set out in Housing for All, and other major infrastructure being provided under the national development plan. I have already sanctioned a further 24 posts for An Bord Pleanála at the board's request, which are currently being recruited. I intend to approve a further substantial increase in staffing resources for An Bord Pleanála shortly to ensure it is fully equipped to meet the demands of our planning system, including the new functions it will take on as part of the new marine planning arrangements, in particular. The additional staff members will be hired in tandem with the recommended organisational reforms set out by the Office of the Planning Regulator review to create a fully fit-for-purpose body, including any legislative changes required to achieve this aim. Under Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland, a number of objectives are set out with the aim of improving the functioning of the planning system, including the comprehensive review and consolidation of planning legislation, which is nearing completion. I have already referred to that in my remarks today. The review is being led by the Attorney General. He has established a working group of professionals with planning law expertise to assist him in this work. It is intended that the review will be completed and the Bill will be finalised in the fourth quarter of this year. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2022-09-15/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:51:02+00:00 Sitting date: 2022-09-15