Ms Attracta U? Bhroin:

As always, Deputy Gould goes right to the heart of the matter. There is no beating around the bush. His question is so pertinent. A golden opportunity is being missed here to really beef up in primary legislation the governance requirements for the board and to ensure there is the separation and that true independence, particularly from the Department and especially when it comes to the sensitivities around specific planning policy requirements, SPPRs, etc. and all those different types of things. That is critical because it has become such an issue within the courts.

There has been, however, a wider failure of governance in the delays in responding to the types of issues we have seen in the initiation of a review by the Office of the Planning Regulator. That is something that could be prescribed on a body at the apex of our planning system. That should be a regular prescribed review that should happen and there should be a requirement for that report to be put before this committee or, indeed, the Oireachtas, given the centrality of the role of An Bord Pleanála. There is an awful lot more that could be done around the remove in terms of absolute proscription for a set-aside period on acting civil servants or civil servants who have been within the Department before they can be appointed to the board, increased governance requirements and prescription around conflict of interest, making clear deterrents, and prescribing in legislation and not leaving it to the discretion of internal processes. In this way there would be very clear signals and assistance to people on what can often be a very complicated issue around declarations of conflict, codes of conduct and all those different types of things.

One of our concerns is that this legislation is coming before we have seen the final OPR review and before there has been any opportunity to have a proper discussion on this. That is why our firm recommendation is to tweak and improve the panel system and then take a step back and move to expedite the appointments to the board. We also need to be very conscious that we have had the resignation of the chair. There was no mention, but perhaps I missed it this morning, of provisions around the appointment of the chair.

That area also definitely needs to be looked at because there are some very serious concerns, particularly about the composition of yet another committee looking to do this, which, bizarrely, has included in its membership a very senior member of the Department - the Secretary General, I think. One has to question how that is appropriate in the context of a committee involved in the consideration of the nomination of candidates for the consideration of the Government for appointment to the chair. There are further issues within that if the Government chooses not to appoint that chair.

There is therefore an awful lot more that could address all the concerns that Deputy Gould, as always, has gone right to the heart of. This legislation is not fit for that purpose at all.