Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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395. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the total number of persons working in An Bord Pleanála. [36605/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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396. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average annual salary of persons working in An Bord Pleanála. [36606/24]

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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397. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government if he will list the salaries of the top twenty best-paid persons working in An Bord Pleanála, in tabular form. [36607/24]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 395, 396 and 397 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.

There are now more people working at the Board than at any time previously. Since October 2021, my Department has agreed to 117 new staffing posts in the Board. The Board has advised that as of 31 August 2024 there were 282 individuals working in the Board, across all roles, including Board Members. The Board received approval and sanction from my Department for a total of 313 posts to date.

As provided for under the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, the Board are required to disclose a breakdown of Board Members and Employees’ short-term benefits in excess of €60,000, in bands of €10,000, within their Annual Report and Accounts. A copy of the 2022 Annual Report and Accounts is available at Publications | An Bord Pleanála (pleanala.ie) . The 2023 Annual Report and Accounts is due to be published in the coming weeks.

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 .