Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government has allocated exceptional resources to increase staffing at An Bord Pleanála. Recruitment is under way and, in fact, quite a number of people have been recruited. The challenge will be to recruit a sufficient number of specialists in different areas into An Bord Pleanála. As the Deputy is aware, an interim board was put in place, with Oonagh Buckley appointed as chairperson, and there has been a significant increase in planning permissions granted. There has been a 38% increase since the beginning of the year over a comparable period prior to that. Progress is being made but there are still too many backlogs. The backlog has to be cleared and, ultimately, we have to get into a position where timelines are observed. The new planning Bill will be key to that.

See this speech in context