Kevin Humphreys (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the delegation. I compliment the inspectors for the courtesy they show, especially during oral hearings. Over the past ten years I attended several of these and the professionalism shown by staff has been excellent. The board should be very proud of the way they treat the public, especially people without expertise in planning. They give time and consideration in hearing their viewpoint, which is very important. In saying that, I may not have always agreed with the decisions made.

Government policy is part of the decision and there are certain targets set by the Government. Where is that balance in the process? An Bord Pleanála is 15% self-financing but is there any reason this cannot be increased to 20% or 25%? Is there any logical reason An Bord Pleanála cannot be more self-financing? It has been mentioned that there has been a drop in the number of determinations by approximately 26%, with only a 6% drop in the budget. It works out at about €4,000 per case. Are there other areas available between now and the end of next year where there can be further savings within the budget? Salaries and allowances add up to approximately €9.2 million. I know there is a certain core cost in running An Bord Pleanála that cannot be dropped but could there be further savings on salaries, allowances and operational costs before the end of next year?