Minister increases planning authority board to tackle backlog of cases

The number of board members on Ireland’s planning authority has increased in order to deal with a backlog of cases.

Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said the increase in the maximum number of ordinary board members at An Bord Pleanala, from 14 to 17, was a temporary measure.

Mr O’Brien also appointed eight new full-term ordinary board members to the board following an open recruitment process.

The full-term board members will take up their positions from next Monday September 2.

Several probes have been carried out since allegations of conflicts of interest at the planning appeals body were raised in 2022.

An Bord Pleanala has been under significant pressure to reform; a report in December 2022 warned that it was in a “critical state”.

An interim chairwoman of the organisation said its determination of cases fell by 25% in 2022 after a “particularly difficult year”.

Oonagh Buckley also said the departure of board members had a “serious detrimental impact” on its overall performance.

The Department of Housing said on Monday the reduced personnel on the board created a significant backlog of case files to be decided on in 2023, which has also stretched into this year.

“With the increase in the number of Board members and, in conjunction with the significant increase in resourcing and the filling of these posts in a timely manner, An Bord Pleanala is working to address the backlog of cases that are currently awaiting a decision as quickly as possible,” the department said.

Mr O’Brien said: “I am delighted to be in a position to appoint a number of new board members to An Bord Pleanala on a full term basis and to increase the maximum number of board members to 17.

“The Board has been through a challenging period in recent times but, with the help of a number of temporary board members, the board is now in a position of stability.

“With the increase in resources, including an increase in sanctioned staffing levels to 313, the decision making capacity of the board has continued to steadily improve during 2024.

“With these eight full-term appointments now confirmed, I expect that trend of increased decision making will continue and that the primary focus of the Board will be on clearing the backlog in the short to medium term.

“I wish all eight board members every success in their new role.”