Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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350. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the reason that a decision has not been made in an An Bord Pleanála appeal (details supplied) which was lodged on 10 October 2021 and an indicative date of 16 February 2022 for a decision was initially provided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54173/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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351. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the delays in decision-making by An Bord Pleanála is as a result of a lack of financial resources and-or a lack of human resources or mismanagement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54174/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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352. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if the impact of the delays in decision-making by An Bord Pleanála on the economy has been quantified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54175/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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353. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if An Bord Pleanála will be replaced by a body capable of carrying-out its current remit in an efficient and diligent manner; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54176/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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354. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of appeals lodged with An Bord Pleanála in 2021 that have not yet been decided; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54177/22]

Michael McNamara (Clare, Independent)
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355. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of cases at An Bord Pleanála that a decision is still awaited more than six months after the initial indicative decision date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54178/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 350 to 355, inclusive, together.

An Bord Pleanála (the Board) is the national independent statutory body with responsibility for the determination of planning appeals and direct applications for strategic infrastructure and other developments under the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, and certain other Acts.

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

Section 126 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, provides that it shall be the duty and objective of the Board to decide appeals as expeditiously as may be and, for that purpose, to take all such steps as are open to it to ensure that, insofar as is practicable, there are no avoidable delays at any stage in the determination of appeals.

It is important to acknowledge that a certain percentage of cases, due to particular circumstance such as complexity, requests for further information from applicants for permission, or further submissions from other participants including third parties, will not meet the 18 week target.

Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email address for An Bord Pleanála in this regard is Oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie.

In order to be of assistance to the Deputy, my Department sought the information requested from the Board, who provided the following information in relation to normal planning appeals as at 26 October 2022:

In October 2021 my Department approved the 2021-2022 An Bord Pleanála Workforce Plan which provides for an additional 24 posts across a range of technical and administrative grades including the setting up of a new Marine and Climate Unit to implement the role assigned to the Board under the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 and associated projects under the Climate Action Plan 2021.

These additional 24 approved posts increase overall approved Board staffing by 13% from its previous total of 183 staff (excluding board members). In addition, the Board advertised on 25 March 2022 for qualified individuals to apply to be members of external specialist consultancy panels to advise the Board e.g. ecologists, ornithologists, hydrologists etc.

Following an updated assessment by the Board of resourcing issues likely to emerge as a result of planning applications for the National Development Plan and other infrastructure projects as well as legislative changes, a new workforce plan for 2022-2023 seeking additional resources was submitted to the Department by the Board earlier this year and this subsequently supplemented by a specific marine resourcing plan.

On October 4^th, following Government approval, I published an Action Plan for An Bord Pleanála, which was informed by the Phase One review by the Office of the Planning Regulator of certain systems and procedures used by An Bord Pleanála. The Action Plan outlines several measures relating to the Board appointment process, structure, capacity, resourcing and operations within An Bord Pleanála.

The Action Plan notes that given the scale of operation, the transformation agenda and emerging functions in relation to the marine and climate action the Executive Management Team (EMT), which currently consists of the Chief Officer, a Director of Planning and a Director of Corporate Affairs, needs to be strengthened. It provides that the overall structure should comprise a number of additional posts, specifically to provide for lead roles on legal services, ethics and corporate governance and transformation, as well as an additional Director of Planning to head up the Marine and Climate Unit.

In addition to the new roles in the EMT, the Action Plan highlights that significant additional resourcing is required in the Board across a number of functions. In this regard, the Action Plan approves a total of c.30 additional posts, in line with the 2022-2023 workforce plan, to be introduced on a phased basis, new skills and a programme of transformation to ensure that the most efficient methods are in place in An Bord Pleanála.

“Housing for All – A New Housing Plan for Ireland” sets out a number of objectives with the aim of improving the functioning of the planning system including the comprehensive review and consolidation of planning legislation. This review is being led by the Attorney General and my Department and, as outlined in the Action Plan, a number of key proposals in relation to An Bord Pleanála are being advanced in this Planning Legislative Review. It is likely that the Planning Legislative Review will recommend a phased introduction of statutory timelines for classes of decisions, to be made by An Bord Pleanála.