Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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On the issue of appeals from local authorities, the annual report states that in 2019, 29,117 decisions were made by local authorities, of which 2,076 were appealed to An Bord Pleanála, equating to a percentage of 5.6%. My figures differ from that because 5.6%, which is 2,076 appeals, would add up to 36,000 applications to local authorities. I am not sure how the 5.6% figure was arrived at. In relation to the appeals, I note that while the average appeal rate across the country is 5.6%, in the Dublin, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and Galway authority areas, the figure varied from 13.4% to 11.2%, with the latter being the appeal rate for Galway County Council. Is there any specific reason why the appeal rates in those areas are far above the national average? That means that if the national average appeal rate was 5.6%, then the appeal rate from other local authority areas are less than that. Is there any particular reason why the appeal rate was so high for those four areas?