Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Cathaoirleach and his office, the Clerk and his team and all involved in the very successful visit yesterday by Congressman Richard Neal. By all accounts, it was an amazing and historic day. It was a great privilege to be here and to share in the exchange. Based on the media coverage last night, it resonated with a lot of people. I know it was a personal choice of the Cathaoirleach's and something he wanted to see happen. I also thank the administration here in Leinster House that dealt with all the security issues and other matters that come with such a visit to this House. We were greatly privileged and I again thank everyone involved.

I raise the issue of An Bord Pleanála. I am conscious that there is litigation going on that would not be appropriate for me to talk about. That said, An Bord Pleanála plays a very important - indeed, critical - role in our planning process and the public must therefore have every confidence in the governance procedures of the board and how it and its members conduct themselves. We in these Houses are all aware that the former Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government commissioned a report called the Mulcahy report, which I will address in a minute. We are also very aware that our current Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage appointed Remy Farrell SC to provide his opinion on a number of planning decisions and a report is awaited. As I said, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on his work or any ongoing issues around An Bord Pleanála.A report by Rory Mulcahy SC into alleged corruption in County Donegal remains unpublished almost five years after it was sitting on the desk of the then Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy. He said the report was on his desk and that it needed some consideration. There were many issues of alleged serious misconduct in a planning authority, which gave rise to questions. We are going to talk about confidence in the planning authority, in local government planning procedures and in our appeals board, An Bord Pleanála. Let us not waste money and time commissioning reports unless we are also committed to putting them in the public domain. I have already issued a statement today calling on the Minister to publish the Mulcahy report and lay it before the Houses of the Oireachtas, so we can at least tease out the issues and learn from the recommendations. Having reports that spell out wrongdoing, but not learning from them, is simply and quite frankly not good enough. I ask the Acting Leader for a debate at some point on planning, planning governance, confidence in planning and how we can instil greater confidence in the planning process. I will leave it at that because these reports will hopefully be forthcoming. Today, my call is on the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to publish Rory Mulcahy SC's report. Let us look at it, see about it and let us debate those issues in these Houses.