Ms Maria Graham:

On the Deputy's questions, the Office of the Planning Regulator is now producing a lot of statistics on progress through the planning system. More generally, more than 29,000 planning decisions were made in 2019, of which almost 26,000 were granted and approximately 2,000 went to An Bord Pleanála. In the cases with An Bord Pleanála, 24% of the decisions were confirmed, 25% were reversed, and 50% were varied. There is a huge amount getting through the system. I believe approximately 40,000 homes were consented in last year.

As Mr. Doyle has outlined, An Bord Pleanála is the independent planning appeals board. It makes its judgments based on the policies in vogue and guidance given by the Minister.