Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

In the past ten years or more, the credibility of our planning process has taken serious knocks on numerous occasions. A recent decision of the High Court which agreed a decision by An Bord Pleanála that planning permission for a landfill facility in County Kildare be overturned seems to question the credibility of the processes within An Bord Pleanála. It asked that it be quashed because the board had reached the decision on the basis of inadequate records. There was no record of any meeting of the board about how the planning conditions, as finally prepared, were approved. We often talk about objectivity, impartiality and transparency, but all of them are absent in this case. It calls into question the processes within An Bord Pleanála. The inspector made a decision to recommend refusal. After that recommendation, the board sought further information. A four-day oral hearing was held and further information was again sought, probably to justify its initial decision.

Will the Leader call the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government before the House to assure Members he has confidence in An Bord Pleanála to make fair, impartial decisions on planning permission applications submitted to it. It is unbelievable that An Bord Pleanála, the last arbitrary body able to make a decision, has question marks over its impartiality and credibility. We must have an urgent debate on the issue so that this case and others like it will be queried from now on. People are losing confidence in its processes.