Paudie Coffey (Fine Gael)

This is not an individual case that is before any court. It is a decided case. It goes to the fundamental trust and integrity of the planning process, how An Bord Pleanála carries out its functions, the costs it accrues because of its decisions, and the cost to the taxpayer. An Bord Pleanála should be accountable to somebody, be it the Minister or otherwise, for the actions it takes. It is estimated that its actions in the case to which I refer could cost from €1.5 million to €2 million. The Attorney General was engaged in legal argument for over a week on this matter because the board had insisted on driving forward with its decision. This is a major issue that involves the whole planning process.

The transparency and integrity of An Bord Pleanála in dealing with planning applications have been called into question. The board has been found by the courts to have objective bias. This is a serious statement by the courts and should not be ignored. If the Minister of State cannot say anything about this today, he should take note of what I have said. It is serious for the board to lose two cases in a row and ignore totally the recommendations of the High Court at great cost to the taxpayer. This is serious and I certainly would not like to see it happening again. The Minister of State and his office should take account of it. Somebody within An Bord Pleanála should be held accountable for the manner in which it dealt with the application in question.