Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

465. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the body or person to which An Bord Pleanála is responsible; the number of An Bord Pleanála's decisions which were overturned by judicial review in 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13949/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

An Bord Pleanála was established in 1977 under the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1976 and is an independent statutory body responsible for the determination of planning appeals and certain other matters under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, as well as the determination of applications for strategic infrastructure development such as major road and railway cases. It is also responsible for dealing with proposals for the compulsory acquisition of land by local authorities and other bodies under various enactments. An Bord Pleanála also has functions to determine specific appeals under the Building Control, Water and Air Pollution Acts.

As Minister, my role in relation to the planning system is primarily to provide the policy and legislative framework to support the system's operation, comprising the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, as amended, and a suite of planning guidelines, which planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála are obliged to have regard to in the performance of their planning functions. The day-to-day operation of the planning system is, however, a matter for planning authorities and An Bord Pleanala themselves.

Furthermore, under section 30 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, as Minister, I am specifically precluded from exercising any power or control in relation to any particular case with which a planning authority or An Bord Pleanála is, or may be concerned.

In 2016, there were 5 legal cases in which decisions by An Bord Pleanála were not upheld in the relevant Court judgments while a further 3 cases were conceded by the Board. In 10 other cases, judgments were given upholding the Board's decisions. Proceedings against the Board were dismissed or withdrawn in a further 7 cases. In 2 other cases, the High Court refused to grant leave applications to relevant parties for judicial review. Statistical information in relation to legal proceedings involving An Bord Pleanála is published in the Board's Annual Reports. Reports up to 2015 are available at the weblink below; the 2016 report will be published later this year. .