The 2001 annual report and accounts of An Bord Pleanála were published on 11 November 2002. At the launch of the annual report, the chairperson of An Bord Pleanála outlined the effects of the changeover to the provisions of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, which took effect from 11 March 2002. The chairperson indicated that the percentage of appeals that were invalid was significantly higher under the 2000 Act than previously. This was due, at least in part, to the new requirement that third party appellants must produce evidence of having made a submission to the planning authority in relation to the initial application and also to the change in the appeal period from one month to four weeks. It is a requirement of the Act that a third party appellant must have participated at local authority level. This is in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and I have no proposals to change it.
Under articles 28(4) and 29(2) of the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001, each planning authority must acknowledge, in writing, receipt of any submission or observation received within the statutory five week period in relation to a planning application. Under section 127 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000, a third party appellant who made a submission or observation on a planning application and who wishes to appeal the decision of the planning authority must present to the board the written acknowledgement received from the planning authority. During the summer, the board advised my Department that the form of acknowledgement in use by planning authorities varied considerably. Arising from this, my Department issued a circular on 7 August 2002 to each planning authority which, inter alia, attached a template acknowledgement form and asked that each planning authority should use this template, or a similar form, when acknowledging receipt of submissions or observations.
