Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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713. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government how many staff were employed in An Bord Pleanála for the years 2020 to 2024, as of December in each year, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23590/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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726. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of staff that are now de facto employed in An Bord Pleanála as of 1 May 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23614/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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727. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of new staff that will be employed in An Bord Pleanála in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23615/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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728. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of new staff sanctioned for employment in An Bord Pleanála 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23616/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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729. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of staff that will retire from An Bord Pleanála in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23617/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 713, 726, 727, 728 and 729 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.

In preparing the Board for the transition to An Coimisiún Pleanála, staffing issues have systematically been addressed on an ongoing basis since 2021.

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 March 2025 there were 285 individuals working in the Board including Board Members. The Board received approval and sanction from my Department for a total of 313 posts to date. There have been no new positions sanctioned so far in 2025 for An Bord Pleanála.

Specific information regarding retirements in 2025 is not held by my Department.

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 .

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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714. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide the total number of applications awaiting a decision from An Bord Pleanála for 6, 12, 18, 24, 24, 30, 36 and 36+ months, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23600/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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725. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of planning appeal cases awaiting decision with An Bord Pleanála as of 1 May 2025; the number of homes included in those cases; how many involve single homes; how many involve multiple homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23612/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 714 and 725 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.

The Planning and Development Act 2024, includes a number of new provisions relating to An Bord Pleanála, which will be renamed An Coimisiún Pleanála, as part of a significant restructure. The Act will introduce statutory time periods for decision making for all consent processes, including, for the first time, for the Board/An Coimisiún Pleanála. This will bring increased certainty to the planning consent processes, for both the public and stakeholders involved in the delivery of key infrastructure such as housing and renewable energy. For Coimisiún processes, timelines are being introduced for appeals as well as the various consents applications made directly to the Coimisiún.

While the specific information requested is not held by my Department, the Board has been working to address the backlog of cases currently awaiting a decision more quickly than before. Progress on addressing this backlog is reported to the Department on a monthly basis.

The Board has advised that the total number of cases on hand on 31 March 2025 was 1,369, down from 2,272 on the equivalent date in 2024, a reduction of 40% in one year. As recently as May 2023, the number of cases on hand was 3,616 (down 60%). In 2023 and again in 2024, more cases were discharged by the Board than were received. This trend has continued into 2025 and sees a significant reduction in the historic backlog. This increased work output has been enabled by significant additional resources in ABP. Since October 2021, my Department has agreed to 117 new staffing posts in ABP.

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

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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715. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide the number of judicial review cases involving An Bord Pleanála in 2022, 2023 and 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23601/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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716. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government how many decisions made by An Bord Pleanála were overturned after judicial review; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23602/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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717. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of cases where An Bord Pleanála agreed with the court to overturn or amend a decision in 2023 and 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23603/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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718. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide the amount An Bord Pleanála spent on legal fees in 2022, 2023 and 2024, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23604/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 715, 716, 717 and 718 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.

The information requested is published in the Board's Annual Reports, which can be found at this link www.pleanala.ie/en-ie/publications.

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 .

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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719. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government An Bord Pleanála’s budget for legal costs for the years 2025 and 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23605/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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732. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the annual budget of An Bord Pleanála; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23620/25]

Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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733. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the annual payroll cost in An Bord Pleanála; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23621/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 719, 732 and 733 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.

The information requested is an operational matter for the Board and is not held by my Department.

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