Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2766. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his views on whether An Bord Pleanála requires reform in view of the frequency with which inspectors' decisions are overturned by the board, the length of time taken for some deliberations and the limited detail provided to the public in respect of discussion by the board relating to an approval or refusal. [35081/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince the establishment of An Bord Pleanála in 1977, planning legislation has clearly assigned final responsibility for decisions on planning appeals to the Board and not to inspectors preparing reports and making recommendations to the Board.
In 2017, the number of inspectors’ recommendations not generally accepted in the final decisions made by the Board was 202 (or 12.6%) of the overall number of cases decided by the Board in that year, compared to 244 (or 14.8%) in 2016. This information, and other related statistics, are publically available in An Bord Pleanála's Annual Reports which can be accessed on the following link: www.pleanala.ie/publications/index.htm.
Under section 126 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, An Bord Pleanála has a statutory objective to determine planning appeals within 18 weeks. Where the Board does not consider it possible or appropriate to reach a decision within 18 weeks (e.g. because of the particular complexities of a case or the requirement to hold an oral hearing), it will inform the parties of the reasons for this, and will indicate when it intends to make its decision.
An Bord Pleanála is required by section 34(10) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 to state the main reasons and considerations on which its decisions on planning appeals are based, including reasons for the imposition of any conditions. The Board is also required to indicate the main reasons for not accepting any recommendation to grant or refuse permission by an inspector engaged by it to report on a planning case.
The main reasons and considerations, referred to above, are stated on the face of the Board decision order in each case and also on the Board direction sheet which precedes the making and signing of the formal Board order and records the outcome of the Board meeting at which the relevant case was discussed and decided. These documents are publicly available for inspection on the website of An Bord Pleanála and at its offices within 3 days following the making of the Board decision.
