Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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547. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government when he will publish the independent inquires into planning matters in six local authorities; the actions that will arise from the reports; if he will commit to a debate in Dáil Éireann on the matter; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38044/14]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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548. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government his plans to extend the independent planning inquires into other local authorities where concerns have been raised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38045/14]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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549. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the total cost of the internal review of certain planning matters into seven local authorities initiated in 2011; the cost of the subsequent external review of those internal reviews; the cost of the independent reviews launched in February 2014; the costs to the State of the court case taken against the findings of the internal reviews; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38046/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 547 to 549, inclusive, together.

I refer to the reply to Question No. 570 of 30 September 2014 which sets out the position on this matter.

The preparation of the Planning Review Report 2012 was undertaken in house by departmental staff, therefore the only costs were the salary and associated costs of the officials engaged in preparing the report. The subsequent Independent Evaluation of the Planning Review Report 2012 prepared by Mr. Hendrik van der Kamp cost €12,096. The settlement cost to my Department in respect of the judicial review proceedings in respect of the Donegal part of the Planning Review Report 2012 was €25,000.

MacCabe Durney Barnes Consultants were appointed in February 2014 to carry out an independent planning review on the performance of planning functions in six selected planning authorities (Carlow, Cork, Galway and Meath County Councils and Cork and Dublin City Councils) in accordance with section 255 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended. This review is expected to cost €76,000. I expect to receive the final report from the consultants in the coming weeks and I subsequently intend to publish it having considered its contents. My focus will be in considering and responding to any recommendations made in the report and I have no plans to undertake any further planning reviews at present. However, I will be bringing legislative proposals to Government to establish a new Office of the Planning Regulator, which will have a number of roles including the undertaking of reviews of the systems and procedures applied by planning authorities in the performance of their functions under the Planning and Development Acts.