Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. There are two issues to discuss in addressing the issues raised while bearing in mind that under section 30 of the Planning and Development Acts I am precluded from discussing individual developments which are matters for the appropriate planning authority - in this case Cork City Council.

Legislation sets down a requirement for An Bord Pleanála to ensure that planning appeals are determined within an 18 week period. The board has a strategic objective to determine the bulk of cases within this period. In 2013, more than 72% of appeals were concluded within 18 weeks. Those appeals represented the bulk of the planning workload. As of February 2014, the compliance rate for normal planning appeals with the statutory objective was 80%.

An Bord Pleanála operates a classification system designed to identify and prioritise the processing of certain types of appeals. Generally, the system prioritises cases at the earliest stages which have significant employment potential or involve projects of significant economic potential on a national, regional and-or local scale. The project to which the Deputy refers falls into that category. Also prioritised are major infrastructure developments that would not be classified under the legislation as strategic infrastructure. The Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 established a strategic infrastructure division within An Bord Pleanála to act as a one stop shop in respect of all major infrastructure projects. In addition to motorways and local authority projects, which were already handled by the board, the strategic infrastructure division is the sole planning consent authority for major electricity transmission lines, railway lines, heavy and light rail and metro orders, infrastructure requiring environmental impact assessment, such as significant airport or port developments, waste infrastructure, very large energy projects and strategic upstream and downstream gas pipelines.

Regarding the assessment of planning appeals by An Bord Pleanála, it should be remembered that the 18 week objective is broken down into a number of deadlines which facilitate the making of an informed decision. The board must gather all relevant information from the planning authority, applicants and parties to the appeal and enable the relevant parties to provide feedback. The process is particularly challenging in the case of strategic infrastructure. Accordingly, attempts to cut back the 18 week decision period could have a bearing on the ability of the board to make an informed decisions, which is key to the whole process. The point the Deputy makes as to the large number of jobs offered by a key employer indicate that the matter will fall into the priority category.

See this speech in context