John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 38 and 45 together.

An Bord Pleanála has a statutory objective to determine appeals and referrals within 18 weeks. Consideration of the performance of the board must take account of the legacy of record levels of case intake over recent years and the assumption of significant new functions under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006.

In 2007, the board received a record 6,664 new cases, up 12% on 2006, and determined 6,163, which is a 10% increase on 2006. This high intake, coupled with an increased workload on strategic infrastructure cases, resulted in a significant backlog at the end of 2007 and challenged the board in meeting its statutory objective. In 2008, almost 5,600 cases were received and 22% of cases were disposed of within the 18-week period.

In light of the demands on the board, sanction was given in 2007 for an additional 35.5 permanent staff, bringing the total complement to 172. Board membership has also been increased from ten to 11, on a temporary basis.

The board is now focused on dealing with the backlog and restoring compliance with its statutory objective. Caseload is expected to continue to decline with about 5,000 new cases anticipated over 2009. In the two months to the end of February, the board determined over 900 cases with 584 cases determined in February, the highest monthly output on record. Cases on hand have fallen 16% compared to the same period last year.

To assist the board, I recently initiated arrangements, through the offices of the county and city managers' association, to secure the temporary secondment to the board of senior planning staff from authorities in the greater Dublin area. I expect a positive response that would allow the first staff to transfer within the coming weeks.

In the context of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill, I also intend to provide for a reduction in the board's current quorum of three to two, for the purpose of determining certain classes of routine cases.

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