Mr. Terry Sheridan:

The slide on the display screen adverts to a pre-application process with a nine-week timeframe for the initial pre-application consultation between the board, the local authority and the developer. There is a one-and-a-half to two week period for validation of the application. Then there is a four-week period for the planning authority to submit a report on the pre-application. Following that, An Bord Pleanála will organise a meeting between the relevant parties. Furthermore, during that timeframe the inspector will initiate preparation of his pre-application report. Then, finally, it is for the board to outline and make its decision on whether the application is sufficiently comprehensive to proceed. A mandatory maximum nine-week period applies under this process. Normally, the timeframes provided for in the planning Acts are statutory objective periods, SOPs, which can go beyond the periods set out in the legislation. However, in this case there is a mandatory guaranteed nine-week timeframe.

There is a 16-week period for the application phase. In this phase, the normal public consultation overseen by local authorities takes place in planning applications. There is a five-week period for the public, elected members, interested parties and prescribed bodies to make their submissions to the board. The planning authority then has an additional three weeks to submit its report to the board on the proposed development. That will take account of the public submissions received during the public consultation phase. Then, we move on to the inspector's report after receipt of the local authority report on the proposed development. Finally, the board has a couple of weeks to make its final decision. In this case, we are talking about a maximum of 16 weeks for the board to make a decision on an application. It is important to point out that an application will not get through to the board unless everything is ironed out at pre-application stage. A number of requirements apply. For example, the site must be serviced by the necessary infrastructure, with roads, water, etc. All the documentation, including layout plans, house types, density and all of required information to make a decision on a planning application has been provided. Only at that stage, when an application gets the green light after the pre-application consultation stage, can the planning application be submitted to the board. Effectively, as Mr. Cussen has pointed out, we are talking about cutting down and condensing the decision-making process for large-scale housing developments from 70 or 80 weeks plus to a maximum of 25 weeks. This will shorten the decision timeframe substantially.