Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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346. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the position regarding the roll-out of a nationwide e-planning system. [7347/21]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The ePlanning project which is currently being developed seeks to integrate the IT systems of the 31 planning authorities using a single online portal allowing for the online submission of planning applications, appeals, submissions and associated fees. Once fully rolled out, ePlanning will provide an online option for the public to engage with the planning system, in addition to the paper based system.

The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) is managing and co-ordinating the development of the ePlanning project on behalf of the Department. The experience of operating the planning system during the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance role that online technology would make in the future. Consequently, the ePlanning Project Board has been requested by my Department to consider the acceleration of the development and rollout of ePlanning nationwide with a view to bringing the system onstream as speedily as possible. The proposed system is now in its final stages of development and testing further to which it is envisaged that the LGMA's rollout of ePlanning nationwide to all local authorities will be completed on a phased basis by Q2 2022.