Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

The public must have full confidence in the entire planning process in this country which depends on its integrity. I draw the attention of the House to the mission statement of An Bord Pleanála which states it carries out its work in an independent manner that embodies the public service ethos of integrity, impartiality and the desire to serve the public interest. I wish to raise a matter of grave concern to me and which should be of concern to others in the House. In a recent High Court case the behaviour of An Bord Pleanála in dealing with an appeal case in Kildare was found to be highly questionable and irregular. The court found that there were irregular procedures, that there was objective bias on behalf of An Bord Pleanála and that the decision making process was not impartial. The board's decisions were quashed, not on one occasion but two. I urge Members of the House to review both High Court judicial reviews in the case of Usk and District Residents Association Limited v An Bord Pleanála and Ors. In 2006 the High Court made recommendations to An Bord Pleanála which were blatantly ignored by the chairman and the board. It asked that they take legal advice to avoid a further judicial review. It is a very serious matter and I hope the Leader will take my query on board. It is estimated that more than €1.5 million of taxpayers' money was wasted in a second judicial review because the board ignored the first ruling. This leaves further questions to be answered. How many other similar cases have been dealt with by the board about which we will never know? What checks are made to ensure the board follows correct procedures? In the interests of integrity and on the basis of the evidence in this case, I call on the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, to set up an inquiry into how the board operates and to whom it is accountable.