Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 14 July 2022

Public Accounts Committee

2020 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
An Bord Pleanála - Financial Statements 2020
Vote 34 - Housing, Local Government and Heritage

9:30 am

Mr. Dave Walsh:

As I said earlier when we were talking about the court cases, if a judicial review is taken on an issue, there can be many reasons, from compliance with EU directives to requirements around associated documentation. It is not simply the same issue in every case. There is a time lag from when a JR is lodged to when it is concluded and the court makes its ruling. In the meantime, a significant number - probably eight - SHD applications are decided by the board every month because that is the statutory timeline we have to make those decisions. If we wait 12 or 18 months, we have a body of cases either in the courts or-----