I move:
That Dáil Éireann approves the following Order in draft:
Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1983 (Increase in Number of Ordinary Members of An Bord Pleanála) Order, 1999, a copy of which Order in draft was laid before Dáil Éireann on 11 June 1999.
The physical planning system is in many ways the key to the successful provision of housing, places of employment, transport and other infrastructure for the future. The challenge facing the planning system is to ensure this is done in an economic, efficient and environmentally sustainable way. The Government is concerned about delays in the planning system and is taking appropriate action.
However, building output has increased by more than 60 per cent since 1994. This is the highest growth rate in building output in Europe and in the history of the State. Housing output has doubled, from less than 20,000 houses in 1993 to an all-time record of over 42,000 in 1998, and all the signs are that this will probably be surpassed this year. Ireland now has the highest house building rate in Europe. The planning system has done well to facilitate this unprecedented level of building activity, but this has obviously put a strain on the system.
Central Statistics Office data show that a total of 9,214 planning permissions were granted in the first quarter of 1999 compared with 7,822 for the same period in 1998. This is an increase of 17.8 per cent. The number of new houses covered by the permissions in the first quarter of 1999 was 10,600, the highest number ever for the first quarter of the year. This was also the second highest number for any quarter ever. The highest number of new houses covered by permissions in any quarter was 12,232 in the third quarter of 1998.
While the system has coped well with this huge influx of applications and appeals, delays have arisen in processing planning applications and appeals. This is why more resources are being allocated to planning at national and local level. The Minister for the Environment and Local Government has asked the local authorities to review their operations and, where necessary, employ additional planners. A survey carried out by the Department of the Environment and Local Government in mid-May this year showed that staff numbers in the larger local authority planning departments, that is, county councils and county borough corporations, had increased by some 14 per cent over the preceding year to over 750. Several of the local authorities indicated they were on the point of recruiting additional staff to their planning departments, so I am confident the situation has improved even further since then.
This draft order to appoint one additional member to An Bord Pleanála, which the House is being asked to approve, is just one of many measures being put in place to bolster the efficiency and timeliness of the board's service. An Bord Pleanála, its staff and board members play a crucial role in the planning system. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to their hard work and for the enormous efforts they have made in coping with the huge increase in planning appeals in recent years.
While we may disagree with individual decisions of the board from time to time, it is fair to say that the board has won widespread respect for doing its job with scrupulous impartiality. It is unrealistic to expect that there would be unanimity throughout the country in relation to all planning decisions. What is required is an independent consideration of the planning authorities' decisions. However, we must ultimately accept that different people will arrive at different decisions in respect of the same facts. The courts have accepted this and ruled that, provided the board adopts due process and bases its decisions on the facts before it, they will not question the planning merits of its decisions.
Through its work, An Bord Pleanála has played an essential role in ensuring that the best qualities of the Irish planning system are preserved and upheld. For a small fee, people seeking planning permission and third parties who feel that the proper principles of planning and development are not being upheld have an opportunity to appeal local authority planning decisions to a completely independent body. This third party right of appeal is almost unheard of in most other European countries.
My colleague, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Dempsey, is, of course, very concerned, along with An Bord Pleanála, at the deterioration in the time taken by the board to determine appeals. Last year the Minister increased the number of board members by 50 per cent to the current level of nine and approved all the board's proposals for additional staffing. The board's Exchequer grant has almost doubled over the period 1995-99. The growth in this grant mainly reflects the increased pay and non-pay costs arising from the additional staffing measures which have been approved. Since 1995 staff numbers have increased from 70.5 to a currently approved staffing level of 105. That number excludes the members of the board.
The continuous increase in the number of appeals coming before An Bord Pleanála is continuing in 1999, although at a reduced rate. It is expected that appeals in 1999 will be in the region of 5,230. The estimated intake for 1999 represents a doubling of the average intake over the recent ten year period from 1986 to 1995. This increase in appeals has seriously affected the ability of the board to fulfil its statutory objective of determining appeals within four months. At the end of May 1999 the four month rate had dropped to 41 per cent, which is unacceptable to the Minister and the board. Further increased staffing to deal with the increase in appeals has been approved and the board is recruiting this staff.
The main reason for the present level of arrears is the long delay in 1998 and 1999 in recruiting extra staff, particularly additional inspectors. The board had experienced difficulties in recruiting experienced professional planners. To overcome these difficulties, it advertised in the UK for planners. There were 29 inspectors at the end of May 1999 compared with an average of 26.8 during 1998. Four further inspectors from an existing panel are expected to take up duty by early July. Offers have been made for a further four extra jobs following recent interviews for senior planning inspector and planning inspector posts. Six additional fee-per-case inspectors have been engaged. Offers have also been made for nine administrative assistant jobs following interviews held at the end of May. This additional staff will help considerably with reducing the backlog in the processing of appeals but will, in turn, increase the pressure on the board in deciding cases.
The enactment of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1998, enables the Minister for the Environment and Local Government to increase the number of board members to meet the demands of the increased workload. Three additional members were appointed in 1999 for a period of three years up to 6 November 2001 and it is proposed that the additional member now being sought should serve for the same period. The chairman of the board and the Minister are of the view that an additional board member is required in order to achieve the necessary improvements in performance.
In order to explain why an additional board member is required, I wish to briefly outline the workings of the board. An Bord Pleanála is a full-time board. Its procedures are such that no single person, be they a board member, inspector or other staff member, can ensure what the board's decision will be in a particular appeal. While the quorum for a board meeting is three, all members would usually attend a meeting where a particularly complex or sensitive case is involved.
In considering an appeal, account is taken of all submissions on the file, together with the inspector's report and recommendation. The board gives due consideration to the report but its decision may at times be at variance with the recommendation of an inspector. For example, in 1998 the board accepted the general thrust of an inspector's recommendation in 91 per cent of cases. It can be seen that these carefully balanced procedures place considerable obligations on all board members. After all, there would be no point in having a board if it was bound to accept the recommendations of an inspector. However, in overruling the recommendation of an inspector, the board must be satisfied that the facts before it support such a decision.
The board is required to give reasons for its decisions, but some might not be as clear as they could be. The chairman of the board has acknowledged this criticism and said the board would give clearer reasons in the future. This is a welcome development.
The most recent measures taken have not given better results for a number of reasons. First, there is the ongoing increase in the number of appeals. It might be noted that the number of cases disposed of by the board in 1998 was 4,057, the highest number in any year and an increase of 12 per cent on 1997. As already stated, the board has experienced difficulties in recruiting planners but has advertised vacancies in the UK to overcome this problem. In addition, the recruitment of new staff necessarily entails a timelag due to the need to train staff in the board's procedures. However, the rate of increase in the number of appeals is now falling and with the additional staff being put in place I am confident that the situation will show considerable improvement before the end of the year.
Up-to-date legislation also has a role to play in an efficient planning system. Immediately upon coming into office the Government initiated a comprehensive review of planning legislation. Arising out of that review the Government approved the heads of a planning and development Bill on 19 January 1999 to replace the current planning code in Ireland. The Bill will substantially revise, update, modernise and consolidate existing planning legislation. I expect it to be published within the next few weeks.
The Bill will give us an opportunity to discuss all aspects of the planning code, including the provisions in relation to An Bord Pleanála. I know that the Minister looks forward to discussing those issues when we deal with the Bill in the House. While we cannot pre-empt publication of the Bill, among its objectives is the more efficient adoption of development plans and improvements in the procedures for granting planning permissions. The powers for enforce ment of the planning code will also be strengthened.
In addition to reforming and updating planning legislation, the planning system must be underpinned by better guidance, which reflects national priorities and international experience. Such guidance also provides certainty for local authorities, developers and the general public in respect of policies and standards.
On the question of planning guidance, a number of important initiatives are under way. Deputies will be aware that public consultation draft guidelines on increasing residential densities have been issued. Increased densities in appropriate locations such as those adjacent to public transport can ensure a more sustainable pattern of development and optimal use of serviced land.
Increasing densities can also facilitate varying house types to provide for differing household sizes and needs. Good design, however, is of crucial importance to ensure a high quality living environment and public acceptability of higher densities. The submissions received in relation to the residential density guidelines are currently being considered in the Department of the Environment and Local Government and a final version will be issued as soon as possible. Guidelines for consultation on retail development have also issued. The location of large scale retail development has a strong influence on the viability and vitality of town centres, the accessibility of services, traffic flows and on the sustainability of our development generally.
An important recent development was the strategic planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area which were launched in March. We can see the pressures of rapidly expanding development and economic activity all around us in the Dublin area as spare infrastructural capacity is taken up and congestion becomes a damper on future growth. The population of the greater Dublin area is set to grow by more than 250,000 people by 2011. Even more significantly, we will have four additional households for every ten in 1996.
These guidelines are based on the principles of social cohesion, sustainability and competitiveness. These goals are to be delivered through a logical development strategy of maintaining a compact metropolitan area while developing strong growth centres in the hinterland area. The development of the metropolitan area is based on the consolidation of the existing built up areas with further development being located where it can be served by an enhanced public transport system.
The policy for the hinterland area aims to build up a number of dynamic satellite towns such as Drogheda, Navan, Naas and Wicklow. Each of these towns is on an existing transportation corridor and the intention is that in the long-term they would have a strong measure of self-sufficiency including a high level of employment activities, high order shopping and a full range of educational and social facilities.
The Government is committed to the implementation of the strategic planning guidelines for the greater Dublin area. The successful implementation of the guidelines will depend on the commitment of central Government, the relevant local authorities and the private sector. The role of central Government will be to ensure that the necessary strategic infrastructural investments are undertaken. Local authorities will be the driving force in ensuring that development plans are up to date and in harmony with the guidelines and in ensuring that the infrastructure is put in place. The Minister for the Environment and Local Government has written to all the local authorities in the greater Dublin area asking them to review their development plans to ensure that they are in harmony with the strategy set out in the strategic planning guidelines.
Subject to the approval of this motion by both Houses of the Oireachtas, the Minister for the Environment and Local Government will appoint the additional member in accordance with the 1998 Act from a list of nominees selected by the organisations on the Economic Development and Construction Panel prescribed in the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994. This is because the three board members appointed this year were from the other three panels. The organisations involved in the Economic Development and Construction Panel will have two months in which to submit two nominations for consideration by the Minister. Nominations will be sought immediately.
Pending a permanent appointment, it is, however, open to the Minister to appoint an official of his Department to fill the position temporarily and that is what he intends to do. The board will, therefore, have an additional member available for the beginning of July.
I can assure the House of this Government's continuing efforts to ensure an effective and up to date planning system which meets the needs of our growing economy while protecting our high environmental quality. I commend the motion to the House.
