Mr. Brendan Heneghan:

We have made the point that there is a tendency for local councils to design something based on reasons A and B, which are usually substantive issues, after which the design goes off to An Bord Pleanála, which decides the matter based on C, D and E but does not comment on A and B in any way. If An Bord Pleanála did comment on A and B, it would create a greater knowledge base on the issues that the council has identified.

I have an example in mind. It is becoming common that there is not a car-parking space for every unit. Obviously, that throws a great deal of parking onto adjacent streets. This arose in a recent decision, where a proposal was thrown out by the council for this reason but An Bord Pleanála did not see fit to comment on it at all. I understand why decision makers are as terse in what they say as they can be, as they would otherwise be opening themselves to challenge, but it would be helpful to have a greater sense of what An Bord Pleanála thinks about core issues. It has the final say on anything that is complex. What the local authority says does not seem to matter much if a proposal is appealed to An Bord Pleanála.