Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

In a functioning planning system, despite our misgivings and frustrations with decisions, we lean on the integrity of the system. That integrity assures us that while we may disagree with the decision, it was made in good faith, with total objectivity, cognisant of all the arguments by all the stakeholders, and employing expertise and knowledge greater than our own. In a functioning system we have confidence in the process, we accept the decision and we move on. That integrity is the basic foundation of the system and without that foundation, we have no system, certainly not a functioning one.

It is true that the integrity of the Irish planning system has been undermined by these allegations and it is not for the first time. The system came through a harsh spotlight with the planning tribunal, as Deputies who spoke before me have referenced. It exposed the corruption within the system. The Office of the Planning Regulator was set up as a consequence and the general public came to expect it could have confidence in an independent planning system. That trust is again in tatters.

As a quasi-judicial body which interprets law and whose interpretations and subsequent decisions have consequences that are social, economic and environmental, we need An Bord Pleanála to be as above question as it is possible to be - just as we expect of the Judiciary. If there is room for doubt, that integrity is challenged and all decisions are undermined.

That the Minister felt there was a legitimate case to instigate an investigation and that the Director of Public Prosecutions has begun its own investigation is enough in itself to damage severely the board, irrespective of the eventual outcome of those investigations. Deputies who have spoken before me have outlined what, at a stretch, can be described as a litany of irregular practices at the top of An Bord Pleanála. They have aired the possibility of sanctions, pending the outcomes of the investigations that are ongoing, and have proposed measures to restore confidence in An Bord Pleanála. The allegations of irregularities are one thing, but we could uncover all incidents of wrongdoing and still not restore confidence in An Bord Pleanála and in our planning system. The public needs to know for certain that the right decisions are being taken. I welcome the Minister's commitment to review the process of nominations to the board. In my view, he may need to go further. There is a fundamental question of governance when it comes to An Bord Pleanála. It is not a regular State board; as Deputy Ó Broin before me said, it is a planning authority. On regular State boards, some positions are filled by ministerial appointments. Regular State boards, however, set strategy; they do not make operational decisions. In An Bord Pleanála's case the politically appointed board members are, under the legislation, the decision-makers on individual cases. Operational independence does not exist. In other words, a small few politically appointed persons are the gatekeepers to major development projects that have impacts and consequences.

I can think of a number of decisions upheld by An Bord Pleanála in recent years in my home city of Limerick that have raised eyebrows. We have seen a 13-storey office block in the first and oldest Georgian block in the city. I do not think that would have been permitted if it were proposed for Merrion Square, despite the similar characteristics of the settings of both. We have seen the demolition of historically significant buildings such as Daniel O'Connell's regular residence when he practised in the Limerick courts on numerous occasions. We have seen the demolition of Curragower House, a late-18th-century gem, which was a mainstay of the riverfront in Limerick for more than two centuries. It is lost forever and is now a gaping hole on the vista of Clancy Strand. We have seen An Bord Pleanála permit a road bridge over the Park Canal, through a special area of conservation, with seemingly minimal justification. Thankfully, it is not constructed yet, and I hope it never will be.

In another part of the country is the Galway ring road, which, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, you will know very well, and which is totally at odds with the principles of sustainable development and proper planning.

I disagreed with all these decisions but I accepted the outcomes. Now, however, following these allegations, I have little confidence that the decisions were made objectively and correctly.

We need An Bord Pleanála. We depend on it to create a better country and, in the context of the existential crisis we face, we need An Bord Pleanála to enable and to facilitate a huge development of our renewable energy industry in the coming years. We need it to develop towns and cities that are livable and less car-dependent. We need to do everything we possibly can to restore confidence in An Bord Pleanála. I welcome the Minister's commitments to do so.

See this speech in context