Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I should point out that this is still potentially before the courts, so I am restricted in what I can say about the specifics of the case. I will reply with fact.

In the first instance, my role of Minister of State with regard to the planning system is primarily to provide a policy and legislative framework under which planning authorities, the Office of the Planning Regulator, OPR, and An Bord Pleanála perform their statutory functions. The legislative framework chiefly comprises the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and the planning and development regulations 2001, as amended. Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas introduce and debate legislation which the OPR then enforces. As we are elected by our peers and the citizens of this State, the primacy of Members of the Dáil is appropriate.

Recommendation 10 of the final report of the Mahon tribunal recommended the establishment of an independent planning regulator, which led to the establishment of the Office of the Planning Regulator on 3 April 2019. The Deputy will be aware of the outcome of the report of the Mahon tribunal and the corruption, which we have now tackled, that existed in our planning system. Other recommendations included the introduction of a register of lobbyists, limitations on political donations and stronger whistleblower legislation. While I will not comment on the particular aspects of the judgment on which it is open to the State to appeal, I will emphasise the importance of the role of the OPR as part of ensuring the effective implementation of the plan-making process. Ultimately, where the OPR considers that aspects of a plan do not conform with national and regional policies or proper planning and sustainable development, the regulator issues a notice to the Minister recommending that powers of ministerial direction be engaged. The decision on whether to issue a direction is ultimately a matter for the Minister and there are safeguards in the legislation relating to the accountability of the Minister to the Oireachtas. This is a critically important underpinning of the plan-led approach which flowed from the Mahon tribunal.

In accordance with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies, the Department has an oversight agreement with the OPR, the purpose of which is to ensure clear service ownership, accountability, roles and responsibilities of both the Department and the OPR with a view to ensuring that the OPR is discharging its statutory functions in an efficient and effective manner and commensurate with the resources allocated to it to enable it to discharge those functions.

The agreement identifies the distinctive roles of both organisations, their mutual commitments and expectations, and provides the basis for ongoing engagement between them. I am satisfied that there are good arrangements in place for accountability to the Oireachtas and governance of the Office of the Planning Regulator. We continue to keep the legislative provisions under review, particularly in the context of the planning review currently being led by the Attorney General, which is due to report in September next year. It will provide a fitness test for the whole planning area. Any legislation required on foot of that review will be enacted before the end of the year, which is a very ambitious target, given the complexities of the planning system, which processes 27,000 applications per annum of which only 10% are appealed.

I wish to make two further points. The Planning Regulator has a job to implement and be guardian over a plan-led system that this Oireachtas has approved with a shared vision from a national planning framework right down to our local plans. The current occupant of the Office of the Planning Regulator is a highly professional individual who discharges his functions with considerable thought and merit on a daily basis. He does not take any decision lightly when recommending a direction ultimately to the Minister who decides in respect of the Oireachtas.

The assistant secretary with responsibility for planning in our Department is a highly respected individual who has done great work and given great service to the State. I had the privilege of being in County Wexford recently and saw the leadership that Tom Enright is giving there as chief executive. There are many innovative projects which I have not seen in other local authorities. They seek to future-proof employment. Key infrastructure is being delivered in County Wexford, bringing many jobs to the county. The work by the executive and the councillors in underpinning those policy decisions, including taking hard decisions on revenue-raising mechanisms, is exemplary.

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