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. Graham Doyle:

Okay. I will come back to the Deputy on that. There is obviously an implementation group that was set up. I think that was something the Deputy mandated himself at the time, as I understand it. I am more recent to the organisation. In the context of the recommendations around appointments and open processes, I think there was a recommendation in the review that two members be appointed by an external process. What we are now moving to will of course require a legislative update as part of the review of the planning legislation. I think this was the first recommendation in the review in 2016. This has been worked through over the last 12 months. There has been intense engagement across a number of forums, particularly with the Attorney General's office, around that. The Minister is very much in favour of moving to open recruitment across the board.