The number of planning applications received by Dúchas, The heritage service of my Department in 1999 and in 2000, to date, was 7,700 and 2,210 respectively. You will appreciate that the number currently not dealt with varies continually from day to day but a reasonable estimate of those currently outstanding is 750-800. Average response time can vary from day of receipt, dealt with by a telephone call to six weeks or so.
The number of planning applications received by Dúchas in the four preceding years were 2,700, 3,100, 4,500 and 6,100 respectively and represent a near three-fold increase between 1995 and 1999. The increase is as a result of the growth in the economy over the same period as well as an increased awareness of heritage matters generally.