Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy John Phelan, to the House. I will be brief. I am raising this matter in the context of Rebuilding Ireland. In the preparations for it and the ongoing and concluding legislation to underpin it, officials in the Department made a very strong case for the fast-tracking of planning and a lot of concern was expressed by local councillors, in particular, as well as people throughout the country about the interface with the planning system. Plean-IT is an internal platform developed by An Bord Pleanála. I understand it is working very well but it is internal at this point.

We were given assurances by the then Minister, Deputy Coveney, that he would fast-track the process and that it was a critical part of the public engagement process and the right of the public to engage in planning consultation processes. I am not expecting to hear significant figures in respect of the fast-track system because I am conscious that it was only introduced in July, and that there is a nine-week pre-application process and a 16 week planning process after that. The entire process takes 25 weeks. If we rolls on 25 weeks from July, I would anticipate that between four and eight applications have gone through the system.

My real concern is that we keep an eye on the fast-track element, in particular as it pertains to student accommodation and major business initiatives that want to get going. It is important that they are not stuck in an archaic planning process and are allowed to go through due process. My concern is that, as of today, people in Cork, Kilkenny, Wicklow and Donegal cannot engage online with An Bord Pleanála. They cannot make a submission, which was confirmed by An Bord Pleanála today. They cannot inspect the drawings, etchings, vision, concept or montage associated with a planning application. All of this is unsatisfactory at a time when we want to encourage development and stakeholders to make observations. They do not all have to be negative and involve objections. Many people in our community want to make positive contributions to planning applications.

I am keen to hear what the Minister of State has to say about how we can fast-track the roll-out of Plean-IT throughout the country and local authorities, and encourage citizens to engage in our planning process.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Boyhan for raising the issue. This is a timely issue to discuss in light of recent planning decisions in other parts of the country which were delayed and caused significant problems. The Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 was introduced to ensure that designated national strategic infrastructure would be subject to a faster planning process. The Senator's question revolves around the new arrangements for certain housing developments to be dealt with directly by An Bord Pleanála.

These fast-track arrangements cater for developments of 100 housing units or more or student accommodation developments of 200 bed spaces or more, and planning applications are to be made directly to An Bord Pleanála for determination, as introduced under the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act 2016. Following the preparation of the necessary supporting regulations that set out the procedural and administrative matters relating to these applications, the new arrangements were brought into operation on 3 July. In brief, they involve a two-stage process. First, prior to making a planning application, a prospective applicant must make a request to the board to enter into the mandatory pre-application consultation process for a proposed strategic housing development. This consultation process which also involves the relevant planning authority is required to be completed within a maximum timeframe of nine weeks following the receipt of the pre-application consultation request. At the end of the initial consultation process, the board will issue its opinion as to whether the documents submitted with the pre-application consultation request constitute a reasonable basis on which to submit a planning application or, alternatively, require further consideration and amendment in order to allow the documents to constitute a reasonable basis on which to submit an application. This step facilitates the board in providing advice on the proposal to ensure the highest quality application is submitted.

Second, after the pre-application stage, there is the formal planning application stage. It includes the opportunity for the pubic to make submissions and observations in the normal way on the proposals. The details of a proposed development are made available for inspection at the offices of the board and the relevant planning authority in functional area of which the proposed development is located. The planning application is also made available online on a dedicated website set up by the developer for this purpose.

Following receipt of a planning application for a proposed strategic housing development, the board is required to make a determination on the application within a period of 16 weeks. This results in a potential overall timeframe of 25 weeks, as outlined by the Senator, from beginning to end for the final determination of a planning proposal.

In the period since the new arrangements came into operation on 3 July this year, the board has received 25 valid pre-application consultation requests. It has issued an opinion on 19 of the requests. In the same period and further to the satisfactory completion of the pre-application consultation process, four formal planning applications have been lodged with the board. There have been two for student accommodation developments comprising 3,006 and 388 bed spaces, respectively. There are two other developments comprising in total 478 houses and 562 apartments. These applications are under consideration, with the decisions due in early 2018. It is expected that further requests for pre-application consultations and strategic housing development applications will continue to be received by the board in the near future.

We are extremely pleased with progress to date on the new arrangements and the very positive impact they will have in accelerating the delivery of much needed large-scale housing developments at the earliest possible date. Owing to the level of interest in the new process, the board has published on its website a general overview and update, including information on the number of pre-application requests and applications received. It will provide further updates on a regular basis.

With regard to staffing resources to support the new arrangements, a new strategic housing division has been established in the board. It involves the recruitment of an additional ten staff members to work solely on strategic housing developments. In addition, two board members are expected to be assigned to the division shortly when strategic hosing development applications are due to be referred to board level for final determination.

In the broader context of the national roll-out of electronic or e-planning, the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2016 which is progressing through the Oireachtas will provide the legislative underpinning for e-planning. The legislation will facilitate the introduction of online planning applications, appeals and associated payments both at planning authority and board level.

The board is also implementing a major ICT strategy that will see the introduction of online planning services as part of an upgrade and replacement of core systems. The first phase of the project has commenced with the implementation of a new case management system to support internal business processes, a matter referred to by the Senator. It is expected that the full range of services, including the online submission of appeals, applications, observations and other transactions, will be available to the public in 2018. All of this will help to further streamline and modernise the planning system. The board expects to provide the full range of services for the public in 2018, but I will try to ascertain a tighter timeframe for the Senator.

The Department liaises closely with the board to ensure it has appropriate resources to perform its functions, including staffing and the development of its new ICT systems. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government is satisfied that the board has sufficient and necessary resources assigned to it in that regard.

I again thank the Senator for raising the matter and giving me an opportunity to update the House on the issues involved.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I, too, thank the Minister of State. I note that there have been no approvals under the fast-tracking system, despite the provision being put through in legislation last December. It is a slow process. One of the big difficulties with the policy document Rebuilding Ireland and planning is keeping track of statistics. Every time one asks a question one is given different figures. Interestingly, on this very day I received a letter, dated 15 November, from An Bord Pleanála about six kerbside car parking spaces. The board wrote: "It will not be possible to determine the case within the statutory objective period due to capacity constraints at Board level". The six car parking spaces in south County Dublin are not critical infrastructure and clearly not a priority, but the board is under enormous pressure because of the lack of resources. We need to keep key indicators and regular statistics online for its performance.

The Minister of State represents a rural constituency. Rural communities must have as quickly as possible the right to access planning systems and lodge objections. A professional system must be put in place. It is not appropriate that somebody from Kilkenny, Carlow, Cork or County Donegal must travel by bus to Marlborough Street in Dublin to look at a drawing or a visual of a planning proposal planned for next door to his or her home. As soon as we have this facility online and it is available in public libraries, public spaces and county halls the better because people need to access this information quickly.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I agree with the Senator that a person should not have to travel to Dublin to view a planning application. Under the terms of the legislation, such applications will be displayed in his or her local authority area, as well as in the board's headquarters. The usual facilities are available in county council and city council offices to facilitate members of the public who wish to make observations or study planning applications. The Senator is right. The ability of the general public to make observations on planning applications in their immediate area and community, potentially next door to where they live, is central to the planning process. Equally, the legislation aims to ensure the planning process, as we witnessed in the west recently, will not drag on interminably. I will try to ascertain for the Senator when the full range of services will be rolled out in 2018. It is not unreasonable to ask when they will be rolled out. We should be able to provide a more exact date as to when the system will be available online.

There are ten additional staff. Also, two additional board members must be appointed, which will bring the total to 11. Recent vacancies on the board were filled, returning it to its usual level of nine members.

I do not want to discuss the specifics. However, in the context of strategic infrastructure and the development of much needed housing, I do not know whether the provision of six car parking spaces is an item that should ever go before the board.

Victor Boyhan (Independent)
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I know and the Minister of State is right.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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I take the points made by the Senator about the other issues involved.

Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator and the Minister of State.