Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 December 2023
120. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide resources to ensure education projects can be completed within the 18-week statutory timeframe at An Bord Pleanála. [55500/23]
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, as amended, and certain other Acts.
There are now more people working at the Board than at any time previously. Since October 2021, my Department has agreed to 117 new staffing posts in the Board, as detailed below.
• In October 2021, my Department approved an additional 24 posts across a range of technical and administrative grades including the setting up of a new Marine and Climate Unit.
• In December 2022, 34 additional posts were sanctioned, and the Board is in the process of filling these positions.
• In April 2023, the Board submitted sanction requests for a total of 59 new posts, all of which were approved by my Department.
An Bord Pleanála have advised my Department that as of the 30 November 2023 there was 254 individuals working in An Bord Pleanála including Board Members. The Board has received approval and sanction from my Department for a total of 313 posts for 2023.
Budget 2024 makes provision for significant strengthening of the institutional and human resource capacity of the planning system to underpin the ongoing legislative reform programme.
In particular, a further €5million is to be made available to the Board, to enable sanctioned staffing levels to increase to more than 300 people and 15 decision-making board members to be maintained. This will both facilitate the reduction in backlogs that is underway and new capacity to operate statutory timelines once the Planning and Development Bill is enacted, which will also lead to the restructuring of the organisation into An Coimisiún Pleanála in 2024. This will be the largest ever budgetary allocation to the Board, totalling almost €32m.
The Planning and Development Bill 2023 provides for the introduction of statutory mandatory timelines for all consent processes, including appeals and consent applications made to An Bord Pleanála. Timelines for the Board will be introduced on a phased basis, starting with those for Strategic Infrastructure Developments (including energy and transport projects).
