Mr. Tom Parlon:

The Chair mentioned the timeline and the backlog earlier. There are several thousand cases in the backlog at the moment. A limited number of board members are available to adjudicate them. It takes time. The backlog is rolling on. Every day there are new appeals to the board. In regard to solving the situation, it is getting worse. If we said that we should priorities matters, some people would state that housing should be prioritised and some would say that renewable energy should be prioritised. In the meantime, issues such as those relating to bus corridors, water treatment works, greenways and all the other good things that need to be done will be placed on the long finger. The situation at the moment is mad. It has to be addressed. I have heard the Minsters for Finance, and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Deliver and Reform stating that there is no restriction on financial resources when it comes to putting people in place. They are going to have to be recruited by the Civil Service, and they will be appointed in a temporary capacity. That is absolutely essential. It needs to be done. There should be a dozen or more people in there to start dealing with these in order to get through them as quickly as possible. If we do not clear the backlog, we have no chance of processing the new applications.