Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 March 2023
283. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on whether An Bord Pleanála and the NPWS have the required resources and skillset to ensure that windfarm applications are dealt with within an appropriate timeframe. [14784/23]
View answerAn Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (the Act), as amended, and certain other Acts.
The Board is the competent authority with responsibility for making decisions in respect of planning applications for windfarms with more than 25 turbines, or a total output of more than 50 megawatts.
As Minister, my role of Statutory Consultee on such applications is provided for under the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended) and Article 28 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. The legislation provides that planning applications submitted to planning authorities which have the potential to impact on built, archaeological, or natural heritage must be referred to my Department for observations.
Wind energy development applications which are referred to the Development Applications Unit of my Department by An Bord Pleanála are scrutinised by qualified ecologists based around the country (Divisional Ecologists). There are 9 Divisional Ecologist positions serving all counties in Ireland who work with local National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) staff including Conservation Rangers and have access to other experts in the NPWS specialising in particular species or habitats who may also contribute to providing observations to the competent authority on behalf of the Department.
These observations are intended to assist the competent authority in meeting obligations that may arise in relation to European sites (Natura 2000 sites) in the context of the proposed development. NPWS staff submit observations for issue to An Bord Pleanála through the Development Applications Unit in line with statutory deadlines. The final decision to grant or refuse planning permission is a matter for the relevant planning authority, in this case the Board, and I have no role in this regard.
In October 2021 my Department approved the 2021-2022 An Bord Pleanála Workforce Plan which provided for an additional 24 posts across a range of technical and administrative grades including the setting up of a new Marine and Climate Unit to implement the role assigned to the Board under the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 and associated projects under the Climate Action Plan 2021.
In November 2022, following an updated assessment by the Board of resourcing issues likely to emerge as a result of planning applications for the National Development Plan and other infrastructure projects, the Boards new marine functions, as well as a number of senior positions approved under the Action Plan for An Bord Pleanála , and in accordance with Phase 1 of the 2022-2023 Workforce Plan, the Board sought sanction for 34 additional posts. My Department provided sanction for these additional 34 posts in December 2022 and An Bord Pleanála is in the process of filling these positions.
The Board have received an exchequer allocation of €26.9 million for 2023, which is an increase of €4.7million on the 2022 allocation.
The Planning and Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Act 2022, which was signed into law in December 2022, addressed certain initial matters which required immediate action on foot of the Action Plan for An Bord Pleanála , Phase 1 of the Office of the Planning Regulator Review of An Bord Pleanála and other matters relating to addressing board vacancies and the board’s case load in light of its new marine functions, including:
- Providing for a suitable, independent, objective and transparent procedure by which recommendations may be made to the Minister in relation to the recruitment and appointment of ordinary members of the Board through an open competitive process,
- Increasing the maximum limit on the overall number of members of the Board from 10 to 15, so as to ensure that the increasing caseload can be managed, and the appropriate quorums and suitable allocation of casefiles can be assured, and
- Expanding the provision to appoint temporary ordinary board members to allow for the appointment of serving or former civil servants, public servants, or employees of the Board for a term of up to a year.
Arrangements are being put in place for the new Board member appointment process, and in the interim temporary board members are being assigned. Since early January I have appointed five temporary ordinary board members to the Board of An Bord Pleanála, bringing its current membership to 9 (as at 28 March 2023), and five further temporary appointments are in the process of being made. In addition, a full term Board appointment will be made shortly following a recent competition managed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS) to recruit an ordinary board member with marine and environment experience. These six additional appointments will join the Board in April 2023.
The Board of An Bord Pleanála currently has nine members comprising an Interim Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and 7 Ordinary Board Members.
Finally, “Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland” sets out a number of objectives with the aim of improving the functioning of the planning system including the comprehensive review and consolidation of planning legislation. This review, which was led by the Attorney General, contained a number of key proposals in relation to An Bord Pleanála. In this regard, the new draft Planning and Development Bill was agreed by Government on 13 December 2022 and was published on the Departments website on the 26 January 2023. The draft Bill has undergone pre-legislative scrutiny by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing who will now compile a report for my consideration.
The draft Bill provides for the introduction of statutory mandatory timelines for all consent processes, including appeals and consent applications made to An Bord Pleanála. It is intended that the timelines for the Board will be introduced on a phased basis, starting with those for Strategic Infrastructure Developments (including energy projects).
