My Department does not compile information on the number of vacancies in planning, or any other type of posts in the local authorities. Therefore, I cannot supply the information requested by the Deputy in this regard. With regard to An Bord Pleanála, there are currently vacancies in 1.5 posts at planning inspector level.
The most recent survey of local authority planning departments, carried out by my Department, showed that the overall level of serving staff, both administrative and professional, in county councils and county borough corporations, had increased to 894.5 in September 1999 compared with 753 in May 1999 and 660.5 in June 1998. The September 1999 figure comprised 391 professional staff – planners and others – and 503.5 administrative staff.
It is the responsibility of the management of each local authority to ensure that they have adequate staffing resources to discharge their statutory planning functions. In April 1998, my Department wrote to planning authorities asking that they avail of the opportunity presented by planning fee increases, which were effected by new regulations at that time, to consider the possibility of employing more professional planners. My Department again wrote to local authority managers in July 1998 asking that they consider the adequacy of their professional-technical and administrative-clerical staffing in order to ensure that the planning system does not cause bottlenecks in meeting demand and delivers the best possible service to the customer. The Department has approved almost all such requests for additional professional planners.
Details of additional posts in local authority planning departments sanctioned by my Department during 1999 are set out in the table which will be included in the Official Report.