Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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1417. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the status of the planned establishment of the office of the planning regulator, which was scheduled for January 2019; and if the office will be dealing with complaints from the public. [13718/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018 ("The Act") provides the statutory footing for the establishment of the Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR). As set out in the Act, in certain circumstances the Office will have the power to review the systems and procedures of a planning authority to ensure that they are fit for purpose. This can be done, inter alia, on foot of complaints from members of the public.

I expect to commence the relevant sections of the Act to legally establish the Office and to formally appoint the Regulator in the coming weeks. There is currently an advance Office in place making the necessary preparations for the OPR to be able to perform its statutory functions following its formal establishment.