Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 November 2021
271. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the amount incurred by An Bord Pleanála in legal and consultant fees in each of the years 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55514/21]
View answerAn Bord Pleanála's expenditure on legal fees and consultancy services is a matter for the Board. It should be noted that arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email address for An Bord Pleanála in this regard is Oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie.
In order to assist the Deputy, my Department requested and received the information sought by the Deputy from An Bord Pleanála, which is set out in the table following.
|
€ |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 – end OCT |
|
Legal |
3,286,392 |
3,448,244 |
8,268,470 |
2,269,213 |
|
Consultants* |
718,059 |
777,438 |
1,158,820 |
920,470 |
*Costs associated with Consultants relate to a range of organisational supports, HR, ICT etc and Planning.
Sections 120 and 124 of the Planning and Development Act, 2000 (as amended) allows the Board to employ and engage persons, consultants and advisors in a part time capacity to be renumerated by fees, as it considers necessary for the performance of its functions. The Board is required, under Section 124(2) of the Planning & Development Act, 2000 (as amended), to include a statement on the names of the persons engaged under Section 124 as Consultants or Advisors in its Annual Report.
