Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 December 2025
215. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the average and median statutory decision making times recorded in An Coimisiún Pleanála for each of the past five years for planning appeals, strategic housing developments, large scale residential developments and strategic infrastructure cases, in tabular form; and to confirm the year-on-year change in each category as held by his Department. [70397/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra216. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number and proportion of planning appeal cases, large scale residential development cases and strategic infrastructure cases in each of the past five years that did not meet their statutory decision timeframes; and to provide the Department’s analysis of the principal factors contributing to breaches of timelines. [70398/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra219. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the resourcing plan agreed between his Department and An Coimisiún Pleanála for 2024 and 2025, including sanctioned staffing levels, the number of posts filled, the number unfilled, the recruitment timeline for remaining sanctioned posts; and his Department’s assessment of whether current staffing is adequate to meet statutory decision timeframes. [70401/25]
Amharc ar fhreagra222. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his Department’s role in ensuring consistency of decision making timelines across planning authorities and An Coimisiún Pleanála; and the cross-agency coordination mechanisms which exist to identify systemic causes of delay and to implement corrective actions. [70405/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 215, 216, 219 and 222 together.
An Coimisiún Pleanála (An Coimisiún) 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.
Annual statistics can be found on their website here:
[www.pleanala.ie/en-ie/statistics/annual-statistics] .
The Planning and Development Act 2024 (Act of 2024) was enacted in October 2024 and is in the process of being commenced. The Act of 2024, includes a number of new provisions relating to 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 An Coimisiún. 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.
The headline time periods for An Coimisiún will range from 18 weeks for appeals of decisions of planning authorities to 48 weeks for larger-scale Strategic Infrastructure Developments. The varying timelines reflect the differing complexities of applications dealt with by An Coimisiún.
I am satisfied that the new statutory time periods for An Coimisiún, along with the JR reforms and mandatory declaration procedures set out at section 588 of the Act of 2024 will contribute significantly to the operation of the planning process.
My Department is in the processes of commencing of the Act of 2024 on a phased basis to facilitate the transition to the new legislation across the planning system, taking into account the need to liaise with local authorities, planning bodies and other stakeholders. It should be noted that the existing provisions in the Act of 2000 will remain in place until repealed and the relevant provisions in the Act of 2024 are commenced. A detailed implementation plan is available at [www.gov.ie/planning]
There are now more people working at An Coimisiún than at any time previously. Since October 2021, my Department has agreed to 117 new staffing posts in An Coimisiún. An Coimisiún has advised that as of 31 October 2025 there were almost 300 individuals working in the organisation including Board Members. An Coimisiún received approval and sanction from my Department for a total of 313 posts to date.
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 Coimisiún Pleanála in this regard is [Oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie]
