Recognising the need for increased capacity in the public sector planning services and related expertise in addition to the staffing needs of agencies, organisations and the private sector, analysis is being undertaken in relation to the availability of relevant skills and expertise and a set of actions is being developed in a Ministerial Action Plan to respond to the capacity challenges.
This analysis includes an assessment of the number of graduates coming through our third level institutions and will involve ongoing monitoring of factors such as the projected retirement profile and movement of staff between organisations to facilitate consideration of recruitment and retention challenges.
The action plan will focus on increasing the potential routes into the planning and related professions and increasing the level of uptake of available options, having regard to the need for consideration of professional accreditation and education standards.
In the short term, it is likely that the potential for international recruitment will be considered in light of the current general and specific skills-based labour market tightness.
A steering group is proposed to be established shortly, led by my Department, including representation from the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS), the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR), the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA)/County and City Management Association (CCMA), the professional planning institutes and third level institutions to agree and guide the implementation of the action plan, which will be facilitated through a number of working groups.
In addition to the Ministerial Action Plan, my Department is currently working on a number of measures to increase staffing levels in the local government planning sector. The LGMA submitted a report entitled Business Case for Resources for the Planning Function of Local Authorities in 2022 which identified a shortfall of over 500 staff in local authority planning services at that time. Further to the submission of the report, my Department is working in conjunction with the LGMA on a programme of support to provide planning authorities, on a phased basis, with the requisite level of staffing resources and expertise to efficiently and effectively perform their planning functions. In this connection, my Department wrote to planning authorities in October 2023 conveying approval to the filling of an initial 100 posts in the local authority planning service under the first tranche of the programme. Engagement is ongoing with the local government sector on the scope of further tranches.
€8 million has been allocated in Budget 2024 specifically for additional planning recruitment and training at local authority level. This will support the filling of the 100 posts and will also enable the establishment of a sustainable pipeline of planning resource provision. This will include a new training initiative and the development of apprenticeship and educational programmes to support new pathways into the planning service. Funding is provided for local authority training following the publication by my Department, the OPR and the LGMA of a Learning and Development Strategy for Local Authority Staff in January 2023. A Planning Services Training Group (steering group) has been established to guide the development of foundation level, intermediate level and leadership training programmes. The initial focus is on the development of a foundation level programme for administrative staff to ensure that effective and consistent approaches are taken across the 31 local authority planning services.
There are now more people working at An Bord Pleanála (the Board) than at any time previously. Since October 2021, my Department has agreed to 117 new staffing posts in the Board. The Board has advised that as of 31 December 2023 there were 254 individuals working in the Board including Board Members. The Board received approval and sanction from my Department for a total of 313 posts for 2023.
Furthermore, more Board Members have now been appointed than at any stage previously. The total number of Board Members serving in An Bord Pleanála is now 15, the maximum now provided for under the legislation. Earlier this month, a full term Chairperson was appointed by the Government, and the recruitment process for the appointment of full-term Board Members is ongoing and is due to be completed in Q1 2024. Temporary Board Members may continue to be appointed in the interim as vacancies arise.
The Board received an Exchequer allocation of current funding of €32.4 million for 2024, which was an increase of €5 million on their 2023 allocation, to enable sanctioned staffing levels to increase to more than 300 people and 15 decision-making Board Members to be maintained.
In addition, an increase of €3 million capital funding was allocated to the newly established Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) while an increase of €0.3 million has been provided for the OPR which will bring the OPR budget to €4.7 million for 2024.
