New rules at An Bord Pleanála have been drawn up to avoid conflicts of interest or undue influence in decision-making, according to interim chair Oonagh Buckley who has been tasked with overhauling the troubled planning body.
Ms Buckley outlined a number of changes at the organisation which is due to be rebranded An Coimisiún Pleanála under her stewardship.
Efforts are under way this week to hire a new director of legal services – the previous lack of an inhouse lawyer was described by Ms Buckley as “astonishing” – while a head of ethics will also be appointed.
Regarding the drafting of a new code of conduct, Ms Buckley said “very strong rules” had been set out regarding conflicts of interest, especially in relation to geographical location and relationships.
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“I then had a town hall with staff where we put a few scenarios to them,” she said during a speech at the Irish Planning Institute’s annual conference in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, on Thursday.
“Your child [in one hypothetical example] is the star player for your local GAA club and the rival club down the road, your county rivals, have just put in the application for the new pitch. Should you deal with the file?”
Earlier, at the same event, Planning Regulator Niall Cussen described the draft code as “excellent”.
Other new procedures have been introduced for file allocation, with a desire to avoid both actual and perceived conflicts of interest. Inspectors will have to sign off on files stating their decisions had not been unduly influenced, while a taskforce will look at cutting lengthy “ever longer” case reports.
Significant changes in governance at the board were included in the heads of the Development and Foreshore (Amendment) Bill 2022, published last year by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien.
Ms Buckley, who has had several senior roles in the civil service and who co-wrote the 2000 Planning and Development Act, was appointed interim chair last November following controversy at the planning body which led to charges being brought against former An Bord Pleanála deputy chairman Paul Hyde. He has denied any wrongdoing on a number of occasions.
Shortfall
At Thursday’s conference, she said she would not directly address recent issues given ongoing legal proceedings.
The board is currently working on implementing various reform recommendations set out by the Office of the Planning Regulator, a key aspect of which was a shortfall in decision-makers.
At a recent appearance before the Oireachtas housing committee, Ms Buckley said the flight of board members had effectively cut its operational capacity in half.
However, it now expects the arrival of six new board members, bolstering its membership from six in February to a full complement of 15 by next week. By the end of the year, total staff numbers are expected to reach almost 300.
The speed of processing appeals has lagged in line with staffing levels and Ms Buckley said “a very significant morale issue” had hampered productivity. It currently has about a year’s worth of files to process.
It will prioritise appeals on large housing developments to avoid fines. Staff have also been dealing with “extremely irate” members of the public on a daily basis, according to Ms Buckley, awaiting decisions on relatively small appeals such as housing extensions, leading it to consider some kind of fast-track mechanism in such cases.
With a large volume of outstanding files, including approximately 27,000 remaining strategic housing development (SHD) units, Ms Buckley explained a priority system was unavoidable.
“We have to move away from chronological order,” she said. “It means to a certain extent, and I fully acknowledge this, there will be a group of people whose normal planning appeals in particular came into the board at a time of crisis and who will be [waiting] a bit longer than others.
“The question is, are you unfair to an awful lot of people or are you more unfair to a smaller number of people, if I can put it that way? There is no pretty way of stating that.”
In recent weeks, the organisation has made decisions on almost 6,000 SHD units, with a grant rate of about 75 per cent (4,200).
“In the last few weeks we have granted substantial numbers of permissions for a substantial number of units into the housing space,” she said. “I don’t want say we are [just] here about granting; we refused 25 per cent of those SHD numbers.”
