Deputy Róisín Shortall, co-leader of the Social Democrats today hit out at Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy for the fact that over 300 cases with An Bord Pleanála are awaiting a decision for more than six months.
“Minister for Health Simon Harris must make it a top priority for the HSE to agree this important protocol with the labs holding the smears, as the women affected by this scandal do not have time to waste.”
Deputy Róisín Shortall, co-leader of the Social Democrats today hit out at Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy for the fact that over 300 cases with An Bord Pleanála are awaiting a decision for more than six months.
“The figures that I have obtained are shocking given the ongoing scale of the housing and homelessness crisis. 84 of these cases are waiting over a year for a decision, and unbelievably 35 of these cases are waiting more than two years for a decision.”
“Despite the planning appeals process being a known ‘choke point’ in terms of slowing down housing delivery, the staffing levels at the board have decreased by more than 20 since 2008.
“In 2008, An Bord Pleanála had a full-time staff of 179 people, in September of this year the figure stood at 158. This is a very significant drop in staffing levels and is undoubtedly slowing down housing delivery around the country at a time when supply is so desperately needed.”
Deputy Shortall went on to question the commitment of the government to the effective delivery of housing.
“If we are to believe the spin being put out by the Minister, that all of the stops are being pulled out by the government to address the housing crisis, but when you see an agency with such a massive role in the provision of housing with such poor staffing levels it speaks volumes.”
Ends
19th October 2018
Notes to Editors: PQs below
by Deputy Róisín Shortall
for WRITTEN ANSWER on 18/10/2018
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the number of cases and appeals with An Bord Pleanála that have been awaiting decision for more than six but less than 12, more than 12 but less than 18, more than 18 but less than 24 and more than 24 months awaiting decision, respectively.
REPLY.
The following is a summary of the number of cases awaiting decision by An Bord Pleanala for six monthly periods in excess of 6 months as at end September 2018:
| On Hands Period | Number of Cases – All Case Types |
>6 months < 12 months |
247 |
>12 months <18 months |
26 |
>18 months <24 months |
23 |
>24 months |
35* |
Total |
331 |
* This figure includes 19 pre-application consultation cases in relation to proposed strategic infrastructure development where the prospective applicant has requested that An Bord Pleanála maintains the case as open and which accordingly does not proceed to a determination as to whether the proposed development qualifies as strategic infrastructure development.
It should also be noted that many of the cases on hand for extended periods of time arise from the issuing of further information requests by the Board in order to be able to more comprehensively assess the cases in question. In this regard, there can be delays in the submission of the requested information to the Board by the parties concerned which, on receipt, must then be further circulated to other parties in the case.
by Deputy Róisín Shortall
for WRITTEN ANSWER on 11/10/2018
To ask the Minister for Housing; Planning and Local Government the full-time equivalent staffing levels at An Bord Pleanála in each of the past ten years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
REPLY.
My Department engages with An Bord Pleanála on an ongoing basis to ensure that it has the appropriate resources in order to perform its broad range of functions. As of 30 September 2018, the Board had a complement of 10 members and 148.6 other whole time equivalent staff employed.
The following table sets out the number of whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff employed by An Bord Pleanála on 31 December for the years 2008 to 2017.
| Years | Staffing* (WTE) |
| 2008 | 179.50 |
| 2009 | 167.50 |
| 2010 | 163.00 |
| 2011 | 158.10 |
| 2012 | 145.80 |
| 2013 | 144.10 |
| 2014 | 142.40 |
| 2015 | 138.40 |
| 2016 | 142.10 |
| 2017 | 156.10 |
*Staffing figures are inclusive of Board members
This information, and other related statistics, are available in An Bord Pleanála’s Annual Reports which can be accessed on the following link: http://www.pleanala.ie/
Through ongoing and planned recruitment processes, the Board’s staff complement is expected to increase further in 2019.